^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  W, 


Library  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Eodie.      Presented. 


n^Al 


BV  811  .D3  1867b 

Dale,  James  W.  1812-1881. 

Classic  baptism 


CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 


AN   INUUIRY 


THE     MEANING    OF     THE     WORD 


B  A  n  T  I Z  H, 


AS    DETERMINED    BY   THE    USAGE   OF 


CLASSICAL     G  E  E  E  K     W  R  I  T  E  E  S. 


JAMES   W.   DALE, 

PASTOE   OF   THE  MEDIA   PEESBYTERIAN   CHURCH,   DELAWARE   COUNTY,    PA. 


BOSTON: 
DKAPEK    &    HALLIDAY. 

PHILADELPHIA:  CHICAGO: 

SMITH,  ENGLISH  &  CO.  S.  C.  GKIGGS  &  CO. 

18G7. 


"  Either  tlie  words  of  a  language  must  each  denote  only  a  single 
notinn — a  single  fasciculus  of  thought, — the  multitude  of  notions  not 
designated  being  allowed  to  perish  ;  or  the  words  of  a  language  must  each 
be  employed  to  denote  a  plurality  of  concepts.  Of  these  alternatives  the 
latter  is  the  one  which  has  been  universally  preferred  ;  and  accordingly 
all  languages  by  the  same  word  express  a  multitude  of  thoughts,  more  or 
less  differing  from  each  other. 

"  Now,  what  is  the  consequence  of  this  ?  It  is  plain  that  if  a  word  has 
more  than  a  single  meaning  attached  to  it,  when  it  is  employed  it  cannot 
of  itself  directly  and  peremptorily  suggest  any  definite  thought ;  all  that 
it  can  do  is  vaguely  and  bypothetically  to  suggest  a  variety  of  different 
notions  ;  and  we  are  obliged,  from  a  consideration  of  the  context,  of  the 
tenor,  of  the  general  analogy  of  the  discourse,  to  surmise  with  greater  or 
less  assurance,  with  greater  or  less  precision,  what  particular  bundle  of 
characteristics  it  was  intended  to  convey." 

Sir  William  Hamilton. 


Kntercd  accorjiny;  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tlii'  year  1807,  by 

J  A  M  li  S     W.     U  A  L  K, 

111  tLo  Clerk's  Ufiice  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Kastcrn  District  of  I'ennsyhania. 


s  II  F,  i;  !M  AN    &    u  0., 

iTERKO'n  I'KKS    AMI    1'|;1NTW!S, 

1HILA1>!  Ll'HIA. 


SYNOPSIS. 


Baptist  "VTriters. 

thetr  views  presented  and  difficulties  suggested. 

A.  E.,  A.  Barber,  Booth,  Carson,  Conant,  Cox,  Confession 
of  Faith,  Curtis,  Dagg,  Fuller,  Gale,  Jewett,  Morell,  Eipley, 
Stovel,  Roger  Williams,  "Wayland. 

Greek  "Writers. 

Using  ^dnrm.  —  Achilles  Tatius,  iElian,  iEsop,  ^Eschylus, 
Antoninus,  Aratus,  Arrian,  Aristoj^hanes,  Aristotle,  Barker's 
Classical  Eecreations,  Bentleii  Epigr.  Collect.,  Constantine, 
Dionysius,  Euripides,  Eustathius,  Epictetus,  Eupolis,  Herod- 
otus, Ilelladlus,  Hippocrates,  Homer,  lamblichus,  Julius  Pollux, 
Lucian,  Lycophron,  Menander,  Plato,  Plutarch,  Sophocles, 
Strabo,  Suidas,  Theocritus. 

Latin  Writers. 

Using  Tingo. — Calpuruius,  Celsus,  Cicero,  Horace,  Juvenal, 
Martial,  Ovid,  Pei'seus,  Pliny,  Propertius,  Seneca,  Virgil. 

Using  Mergo.  —  Catullus,  Curtius,  Horace,  Juvenal,  Livy, 
Lucan,  Lucretius,  Martial,  Ovid,  Perseus,  Plautus,  Pliny, 
Quintillian,  Seneca,  Statins,  Virgil,  Valerius  Flaccus. 

English  AVriters. 

Using  Dip  and  Immerse. — Booth,  Bonheur,  Chalmers,  Sir  A. 
Clarke,  Coleridge,  Cowper,  Current  Literature,  Dryden,  Col. 
Gardiner,  Glover,  Hanua,  Judge  Brackenridge,  Kane,  L'Es- 

1  (  iii  ) 


IV  WRITERS    NOTICED. 

trange,  Leyburn,  Judge  Kelley,  Milton,  Sir  Thomas  More, 
Pope,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Spenser,  Mrs.  Sherwood,  Shakspeare, 
Eev.  Dr.  Thornwell,  Warbiirton,  Young. 

Greek  Writers. 

Using  ^aTtri'^u). — Achilles  Tatius,  ^Esop,  Alcibiades",  Aleiphron, 
Alexander  Aphrodisias,  Archias,  Aristotle,  Arrian,  Athenaeus, 
Chariton  Aphrodisias,  Conon,  Demetrius,  Demosthenes,  Dio- 
dorus  Siculus,  Dion  Cassius,  Epictetus,  Eubulus,  Evenus, 
Heliodorus,  Hippocrates,  Heimerius,  Homer,  Julian.  Egypt., 
Libanius,  Lucian,  Nicander,  Orpheus,  Pindar,  Plato,  Plotinus, 
Plutarch,  Polysenus,  Polybius,  Porphyry,  Proclus,  Strabo, 
Suidas,  Themistius. 

Other  Writers. 

Addison,  Bauer,  Blair,  Elizabeth  Carter,  De  Wette,  Ency- 
clop.  Americana,  Prof.  Ewing,  President  Halley,  Houghton, 
Eev.  J.  H.  Orbison,  Eobinson,  Prof.  Stuart,  Valla,  Prof. 
Wilson,  Quintillian,  Home  Tooke,  Sir  William  Hamilton, 
Chaucer,  Fabian,  Mortimer. 


I. 

COURSE   OF    INQUIRY. 


Introductory. 


Discussion  has  continued,  through  centuries.  Baptists  claim 
to  have  reached  demonstrated  and  absolute  truth.  Truth, 
unmixed  with  error,  when  jDresented,  has  power  to  compel 
conviction.  If  already  discovered,  no  apology  for  rejecting 
or  neglecting,  and  originating  renewed  inquiry.  Obligation 
to  examine  and  determine  the  value  of  Bajjtist  results. 

Baptist  Writers. 
Their  principles.     Their  translations.     Their  practice. 

Baptist  Postulates. 

1.  Baiz-'Xu),  through  all  Greek  literature,  has  but  one  mean- 
ing; which  meaning  is  definite,  clear,  precise,  and  easy  of 
translation. 

2.  Ba-ri'^(o  and  ^dnzco  have  precisely  the  same  meaning, 
dyeing  excepted,  and,  in  all  other  respects,  whether  as  to 
form,  or  force,  or  effect,  they  differ  nothing. 

3.  BanriZca  expresses  an  act,  a  definite  act;  mode,  and  noth- 
ing but  mode, — to  dip.  BdTzra),  primary,  expresses  an  act,  a 
definite  act ;  mode,  and  nothing  but  mode, — to  dip. 

4.  BanriZu)  has  the  same  meaning  in  figurative  as  in  literal 
use,  always  referring  to  the  act  of  dipping. 

Counter  Propositions. 

1.  BdTZTcu,  in  primary  use,  expresses  a  definite  act,  character- 
ized by  various  and  essential  limitations, — to  dip. 

(v) 


VI  COURSE   OF  INQUIRY. 

2.  BdrzTu/,  dij),  in  secondary  tise.  expresses  a  limited  force, 
with  a  correspondingly  limited  effect, 

3.  Banri'^Wj  in  primary  use,  expresses  condition,  intusposi- 
.tion,  without  limitations. 

4.  Ba-Ti^u},  in  secondary  use,  expresses  condition  effected  by 
controlling  influence,  without  limitation  of  intusposition,  or 
otherwise. 

Meaning  of  the  Word. 

Baptist  Yiews  expressed  by  Eoger  "VYilltams  and  "A.  E.," 
A,  Barber,  Gale,  Booth,  Cox,  Carson,  Fuller,  Dagg, 
Stovel,  Jewett. 

Dip,  Plunge,  Irmnierse,  iTsed,  at  will,  as  convertible  and  equiva- 
lent terms.  Is  this  true  ?  Can  it  be  tolerated  in  assigning  a 
definite,  critical,  and  controversial  meaning  to  a  word? 

Booth  says,  No.  "  The  substitution  of  these  words  for  one 
another  makes  sentiment  and  practice  ridiculous."  Dngg 
says,  JSTo.  And  sharply  discriminates  between  dip  and  im- 
merse in  a  long  list  of  definitions;  after  which  he  turns  his 
pen  and  blots  the  distinction  made.  Fuller  Bays,  JSTo.  And  by 
his  negation  makes  a  way  of  escape  from  difficulty ;  but  soon 
denies  bis  denial,  in  order  to  escape  from  equal  difficulty  on 
the  other  side. 


Immerse,  a  Eefuge  from  the  Difficulties  of  Modau  Action, 

Modal  action  the  sine  qua  non,  heretofore,  of  the  Baptist 
theory. 

Dr.  Fuller,  A.  E.,  Baptist  Confession  of  Faith. 

Doubt  arising  about  "the  definite  act"  theory.  Pai'ties 
among  the  Baptists. 

1.  Some  affirm  the  theory  absolutely  (Carson),  2.  Some 
doubt  (Gale).  3.  Some  deny  (Fuller).  4.  Some  no7i  liquet 
(Conant). 

Carson  earnestly  condemns  Gale  and  Cox  as  abandoning 
the  point  at  issue.  Morell,  dissatisfied  with  Carson's  defence, 
frankly  declares  that  he  does  give  up  the  point.  "  Immersion 
may  be  by  pouring"  (Cox,  Morell,  Fuller). 


-COURSE   OF   INQUIRY.  Vll 


Dr.  Conant. 


His  labors  great  and  valuable;  but  do  not  meet  the  severe 
demands  of  the  Baptist  system.  Do  not  sustain  modal  mean- 
ing,—  to  dip,  to  plunge.  Introduce  submersion,  condition. 
Affirms  act  of  passing  from  one  element  into  another.  Sea- 
coast  baptism.  No  such  act  of  passing  in  it.  Carson  says 
there  is  such  act  expressed.  Gale  and  Fuller  deny.  The  one 
contradicts  common  sense;  the  others  contradict  Baptist  prin- 
ciples. 

Dr.  Conant's  Definition  :  Act  is  made  a  vanishing  quantity; 
condition  is  brought  into  high  relief  Secondary  or  analogous 
meaning, — state  of  life.  Cannot  be  founded  on  the  form  of 
an  act. 

Second  Definition. — Seven  defining  words.  Inconsistent 
with  Baptist  principles.  Bound  to  define  by  a  term  of  abso- 
lute unity.  Carson  acknowledges  the  obligation;  attempts  to 
meet  it;  and  presents  dip,  and  stumbles  at  the  threshold 
against  ^^or."  Conant  rejects  dip  almost  as  utterly,  as  Carson 
maintains  it  exclusively.  Makes  it  one  of  seven  defining 
words,  yet  excludes  it  from  more  than  six-sevenths  of  the 
cases.  Objections  to  the  seven  defining  words, — to  immerse, 
to  im-merge,  to  sub-merge,  to  dip,  to  plunge,  to  whelm,  to  imbathe. 
Form  of  act  abandoned.  Words  compounded  with  prepo- 
sitions should  not,  unnecessarily,  translate  uncompounded 
words.     Never  means  dip.     Confounded  with  /5a;rrw. 

Metaphorical  Use. — Not  based  on  act,  but  condition..  Wine- 
cup,  perplexing  questions,  opiate  drop,  and  such  like,  familiar 
agencies  of  baptism.  If  Dr.  Conant  will  accept  condition  with- 
out ^'  the  image  of  the  act,"  he  will  agree  with  us,  and  differ 
from  Baptists. 

Immerse  as  a  Latin  Derivative. 

Growing  disposition  to  use  immerse  as  a  shield  against  the 
difficulties  of  argument,  while  dip  is  held  in  reserve  as  a 
necessity  for  practice.     No  confession  of  past  error. 

Duplex  Use. — 1.  The  Latin  prej^ositiou  in  expresses,  some- 
times movement,  sometimes  position.  In  im-mergo  it  expresses 
position  and  not  movement.     Under  the  plea  of  Latinism, 


VIU  COURSE   OF   INQUIRY. 

"moveraent  is,  erroneously,  introduced,  and  the  translation,  to 
dip,  to  plunge,  grounded  on  it,  and  applied  to  cases  of  baptism 
in  which  the  object  is  moved. 

2.  Im-merse,  in  English,  does  not  express  movement;  hence, 
in  other  cases  of  baptism,  where  no  movement  of  the  object 
takes  place,  and  dip  or  plunge  will  not  answer  to  the  facts, 
this  word  can  be  slipped  in. 

Bury,  and  such  like  words,  do  not  express  movement.  "  Bury 
into'^  does  not  give  power  of  movement  to  bury.  The  duplicity 
of  use  which  characterizes  Baptist  usage  in  employing  im- 
merse must  be  guarded  against. 


Failure. 

Baptist  writers  fail  to  show :  1.  One  clear,  precise,  definite, 
easily  translatable  meaning.  2.  That  /SarToi  and  /3a-r:'C<«  have 
the  same  meaning,  form,  and  force.  3.  That  iSa-ri'Coj  expresses 
act,  definite  act,  mode  and  nothing  but  mode — to  dip.  4.  That 
/SaTrn'^w,  in  secondary  use,  pictures  the  act  of  dipping.  5.  That 
any  English  word  daguerreotypes  the  Greek  word. 

Administration  of  the  Eite. 

How  is  the  rite  of  baptism  to  be  administered  ?  Baptist 
Confession  of  Faith  says :  "  Dipping  or  plunging  the  whole 
body."  "Immersing  the  subject  in  water"  (Booth).  Candi- 
date placed  under  the  water  (Eipley).  "Immersing  of  the 
body  in  water"  (Wayland).  "  Immersion  or  burial  of  the 
body  in  water"  (Curtis).  "  Immersion  of  the  subject  in  water 
is  essential;"  "commanded  to  perform  the  act  represented  by 
the  word  baptize"  (Jewett).  "Not  sprinkling  or  pouring; 
the  motion  takes  place  in  the  man,  and  ceases  when  the  man 
in  baptized  in  water"  (Stovel). 

The  Act. 

"Commanded  to  perform  the  act."  What  act?  "  The  act 
of  immersing  the  subject."  What  is  the  act  of  immersing? 
"  The  act  which  Ave  are  commanded  to  perform  by  the  word 
baptize."    Very  clear  and  very  precise  !     "  The  act  is  to  move 


COURSE   OF    INQUIRY.  ix 

a  mj  until  he  is  baptized."  And  "to  move"  expresses  an 
act  so  clear,  so  precise,  and  so  definite  as  to  need  no  elucida- 
tion !  The  Confession  of  Faith  uses  no  enigmatical  terms ;  with 
frankness  and  perfect  explicitness  it  declares, — "the  act  is 
dipping  or  plunging."  "With  such  statement,  nothing  is  left 
but  to  inquire.  Does  God  command  us  to  perform  one  or  the 
other  of  those  well-defined  acts, — to  dip,  to  plunge  ?  If  so, 
which?  They  differ  essentially;  dipping  is  not  plunging, 
plunging  is  not  dipping. 

The  Object. 

Whatis  the  object  of  the  act?  "The  man"  (Stovel).  "The 
subject"  (Booth,  Jewett).  "The  body"  (Wayland,  Curtis). 
"  The  whole  body"  (Conf  of  Faith).  No  discord  in  the  ut- 
terance of  this  element  of  Baptist  sentiment.  Practice,  how- 
ever, antagonizes  sentiment.  "  Baptism  does  not  take  place 
until  after  the  greater  part  of  the  body  has  been  put  under 
water  by  the  act  of  walking"  (Eipley).  This  is  practice. 
What,  now,  becomes  of  the  sentiment  which  announces  "the 
act  of  dipping,"  as  specifically  the  divine  command,  and  "  the 
whole  body"  as  the  object  of  that  act? 

The  End. 

What  is  the  end  of  the  act?  "The  act  ceases  when  the 
man  is  baptized  iu  the  water"  (Stovel).  "In  plunging  the 
whole  body  under  water"  (Conf  of  Faith).  "  Emersion  is  not 
in  the  word,  simply  puts  into  or  under  the  water"  (Conant). 

Eemarkable  confessions.  1.  Abandons  the  definition,  to  dip. 
2.  Puts  a  living  man  under  water,  with,  confessedly,  no  pro- 
vision to  take  him  out.  Beyond  all  credibility  that  any  such 
act  should  have  been  commanded.  To  substitute  ^dizru}  for 
/SaTTTt'Cty,  overtly,  none  dare  to  do ;  to  retain,  verbally,  ^ar.riZw, 
and  give  to  it  the  meaning  of  ^dizroj,  is  to  do  covertly  what 
none  venture  to  do  overtly. 

Validity. 

What  are  the  requisites  to  valid  baptism  ?  1.  Immersion 
of  the  subject.    2.  Immersion  of  the  subject  in  water.    3.  Im- 


X  COUKSE  OF  INQUIRY. 

jnersion  of  the  subject  in  water  by  the  act  commanded  in 
baptize. 

1.  "Immersion."  In  immersion  there  is  no  limitation  of 
time.  Is  this  a  divine  injunction?  2.  "The  subject."  As 
tbe  subject  is  never  immersed  by  Baptists  in  their  ritual  ser- 
vice, but  the  head  and  shoulders,  only,  they  hereby  destroy 
their  own  baptism.  3.  "  The  act  commanded."  The  act, 
universally,  performed  in  practice  is  dipping ;  but  men  high 
in  Baptist  authority  now  admit  that  the  word  does  not  alwaj'S 
mean  to  dip.  How  do  they  know  that  it  means  to  dip  here  ? 
Besides,  to  dip  is,  now,  rarely  found  in  any  Baptist  transla- 
tion of  the  word ;  its  appearance  is  becoming  more  and  more 
rare ;  how  do  they  know  that  ^a-ri'^u)  ever  means  to  dip  ? 

The  foundations  of  Baptist  baptism,  in  its  validity,  are 
shaken  by  its  friends. 


Eesults. 

"We  gather  from  Baptist  records : 

1.  As  to  the  Word.  The  disagreement  between  one  writer 
and  another,  and  the  disagreement  of  every  writer  with  him- 
self, shows  either  an  imperfect  understanding  of  the  word,  or 
a  failure  to  find  any  word  in  the  English  language  to  expound 
their  conception. 

2.  As  to  Ritual  Administration.  Sentiment  and  practice  are 
in  irreconcilable  contradiction. 

3.  As  to  Validity  of  the  Rite.  Honesty  in  stating  the  elements 
which  are  essential  to  valid  baptism  is  unquestionable,  inas- 
much as  they  destroy  their  own,  no  less  than  that  of  all  others. 

4.  As  to  the  Propriety  of  Renewed  Investigation.  Want  of  ac- 
cord with  principles,  and  want  of  agreement  between  writers, 
show  some  radical  error,  and  require  a  new  investigation. 


RENEWED   INVESTIGATION.  XI 

II. 

RENEWED   INVESTIGATION. 


BADTIZ^— What  is  its  Meaning. 

Advantage  of  a  simultaneous  and  comparative  examination 
of  tlie  usage  of  (SaKzo)  and  /Sarrc'Jw — tingo  and  mergo — dip  and 
immerse. 

Yerbs  demanding  Condition  for  their  Object, 
bury.    drown.     whelm. 

Bury  demands  covered  condition  for  its  object,  without 
limitation  in  the  form  of  the  act  by  which  such  condition  may 
be  effected. 

Brown  demands :  1.  Covered  condition.  2.  Condition  re- 
sulting from  such  covered  condition — suffocation.  3.  Condi- 
tion resulting  from  controlling  influence  without  any  covering. 

Whelm  demands :  1.  Covered  condition.  2.  Irresistible  in- 
fluence without  covering. 

Form  of  act  is  demanded  by  none  of  these  words. 

PLUNGE. 

Plunge  demands  the  execution  of  an  act  of  definite  charac- 
teristics. This  word  belongs  to  a  class  widely  separated,  in 
nature,  from  the  preceding. 

BoLTZTU}  belongs  to  the  same  class  with  -plunge;  iSarrTi^^u)  to  that 
class  represented  by  bury,  drown,  and  whelm. 

Farther  Explanation. 

1.  Form  of  act  does  not  belong  to  /SarrtTw.  2.  Intusposition, 
within  a  closely  investing  medium,  essential  to  the  primary 
use.  3.  Indefinite  continuance  in  such  condition  equally  essen- 
tial to  the  word.  4.  Feeble  influence,  the  result  of  superficial 
entrance  and  momentary  continuance,  excluded.  Carson  in- 
sists, unqualifiedly,  on  a  definite  act.  Gale  doubts.  Conant 
leans  to  Gale.     President  Halley,  of  England,  and  Professor 


Xll  KENEWED   INVESTIGATION. 

Wilson,  of  Ireland,  adopt  state,  condition,  in  opposition  to  act. 
Form  of  act,  whether  in  primary  or  metaphorical  use,  must  be 
abandoned. 

Intusposition.  Condition  of  intusposition  carries  with  it  the 
idea  of  completeness.  1.  Complete  investiture,  simply,  as  of 
a  rock.  2.  Complete  influence  resulting  from  such  investiture, 
as  in  a  ship  sunk.  3.  Complete  influence  induced  by  other 
causes  than  an  investing  element.  Exigencies  of  language 
require  such  modification.  4.  Frequent  and  perpetuated  use 
expressive  of  a  definite  influence  begets  a  specific  meaning; 
as  in  the  case  of  wg.ter,  to  drown,  and  in  the  case  of  wine,  to 
make  drunk. 

As  ^arriZoi  has  for  its  starting-point  a  condition  of  intuspo- 
sition, complete  as  to  extent  and  indefinite  as  to  duration; 
while  /Sdnzco  sets  out  from  a  trivial  act  of  superficial  entrance 
and  of  evanescent  continuance  in  an  element;  these  words 
may  be  well  expected  to  have  a  development  broadly  di- 
vergent. 

Eepresentative  Word. 

Baptists  have  failed  to  present  a  representative  word.  Now, 
they  offer  one,  now  another,  and  now  a  third,  each  differing  in 
form  and  in  force. 

No  English  word,  in  its  radical  thought  and  development, 
squarely  correspondent  with  the  Greek  word. 

To  drown,  to  whelm,  to  merse,  to  steep,  to  inn,  each  may 
present  some  specialty  of  claim.  The  Greek  word  having  but 
one  form  throughout  its  usage,  it  is  desirable  that  there  should 
be,  if  possible,  but  one  English  word  used  in  its  translation.  In 
a  controverted  issue,  it  is  especially  desirable  to  avoid  the  shift- 
ing from  one  word  to  another,  even  at  the  exj^ense  of  using, 
sometimes,  unfamiliar  forms  of  phraseology.  We  choose,  from 
among  other  imperfect  terms,  Merse. 

Definition. 

1.  To  intuspose,  to  merse ;  specifically,  to  drown. 

2.  To  influence  controllingly ;  specifically,  to  make  drunk. 

The  facts  of  usage  must  sustain  this  definition,  or  it  is  er- 
roneous. Every  known  case  of  classical  usage  adduced.  The 
period  covered  by  the  quotations  is  about  a  thousand  years. 


RENEWED   INVESTIGATION,  XIU 

BAliTn— ITS  MEANING. 
To  Dip. 

To  dip  expresses  a  gentle,  downward  movement,  entering 
slightly  into  some  diverse  element,  with  immediate  return. 

Dip  and  plunge  are  evidently  separated  in  nature.  Plunge 
expresses  movement  characterized  by  rapidity  and  force,  en- 
tering into  some  element  without  return.  To  dip  passes  on 
from  its  special,  primary  use,  to  express  to  wet,  to  moisten,  to 
wash,  without  involving  the  form  of  the  act. 

^lian,  Aristophanes,  Aristotle,  Constantine,  Dionysius  Hal- 
icarnassus,  Euripides,  lamblichus,  Lycophron,  Theocritus, 
Aratus,  Herodotus,  Plutarch,  Suidas. 

To  Dye. 

Gale  says,  this  word  is  used  in  the  art  of  dyeing,  but  always 
implying  the  act  to  dip.  Carson  denies  that  the  act  is  pre- 
served in  dyeing;  and  all  Baptists,  now,  adopt  his  doctrine, 
and  admit  that  dipping  (retaining  one  word  throughout  the 
modifications  of  meaning,  as  does  the  Greek)  may  be  by 
sprinkling. 

To  dye,  in  the  progress  of  usage,  becomes  to  stain,  to  smear, 
to  gild,  to  temper,  to  imbue,  or  tincture. 

Achilles  Tatius,  ^sop,  Aristophanes,  Eustathius,  Hippoc- 
rates, lamblichus,  Julius  Pollux,  Menander,  Plato,  Antoninus, 
^schylus,  Aristotle,  Epictetus,  Eupolis,  Helladius,  Homer, 
Sophocles,  Strabo. 

Bdnro) :  1.  Dips,  putting  momentarily  into  a  fluid. 

"         2.  Dips,  by  dipping  into  a  coloring  fluid, — dyes. 

"  3.  Dips,  without  dipping,  by  means  of  coloring  mat- 
ter,— stains. 

"  4.  Dips,  without  dipping,  without  dyeing,  without 
staining,  by  communicating  uncolored  quality, 
— tinctures. 

BdTZTU),  dips,  without  the  modal  act  of  dipping. 
"       dyes,  without  imparting  the  quality  of  color. 


XIV  RENEWED  INVESTIGATION. 

Bd-Tio,  to  dip,  takes  as  its  syntax  dq,  with  the  accusative; 
ySa'jrrw,  to  dje,  takes  as  its  syntax  the  coloring  matter  in  the 
dative,  usually,  without  a  prej)Osition. 

TINGO— TO  DIP. 

The  meaning  of  this  word  is  uncontroverted.     It  is  in  re- 
markable harmony  with  ^dr^TU)  in  all  its  phases. 
It  means,  to  dlp^  to  wet,  to  moisten.,  to  wash,  to  anoint. 
Celsus,  Juvenal,  Ovid,  Perseus,  Propertius,  YirgiL 

TINGO— TO  DYE. 

It  means,  to  dye,  to  stain,  to  paint,  to  temper,  to  imbue,  or  tinc- 
ture. 

Cicero,  Horace,  Juvenal,  Martial,  Ovid,  Perseus,  Pliny, 
Virgil,  Seneca. 

Tingo:  1.  Dii^s,  putting  momentarily  into  a  fluid. 
"         2.  Dips,  by  putting  into  a  coloring  fluid, — dyes. 
"      ■  3.  DijJS,  without  dipping,  by  means  of  coloring  mat- 

tev,-^stains. 
"         4.  Dips,  without  dipping,  without  dyeing,  without 

staining,  by  communicating  uncolored  quality, 

— tinctures. 

DIP. 

The  English  dip  corresponds,  in  all  radical  features,  with 
^clTrru)  and  ti7igo.  It  means  to  put  in  superficially  and  mo- 
mentarily, to  dip,  to  wet,  to  bathe  slightly,  to  examine  superficially, 
to  engage  in  limitedly,  to  mortgage,  to  take  out  a  small  quantity. 

Booth,  Chalmers,  Dryden,  Sir  A.  Clarke,  Clover,  Milton, 
Sir  Thomas  Moore,  Pope,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Shakspcare. 

DIP  =  DYE. 

It  means  to  dye,  to  stain,  to  imbue  or  tincture. 
Coleridge,  Cowper,  Milton,  Pope,  Scott,  Spenser,  "Warburton, 
Young. 


RENEWED   INVESTIGATION.  XV 

Conclusion. — Bd-rco,  tingo,  dip,  each  represents  a  form  of 
act  characterized  by  limitations  as  to — 1.  Force,  2.  Extent 
of  penetration  into  an  element.  3.  Duration  of  continuance 
in  it.     4.  Magnitude  of  its  objects.     5.  Degree  of  influence. 

In  using  one  word  to  translate  ISanrrCcu,  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  that  the  Greeks  and  Latins  used  but  one  word  to 
express  the  modal  act  of  dipping,  and  the  quality  of  color  by 
dyeing,  as  well  as  all  the  subordinate  modifications  of  each  of 
these  terms.  Were  we-  to  translate  in  these  cases,  throughout, 
by  the  one  word  expressive  of  the  primary  meaning,  we  should 
have  to  use  such  phrases  as — Dip  the  pastures  with  dew;  Dip 
the  face  loith  tears;  Dip  the  grass  by  sprinkling  blood  upon  it. 

Such  breadth  of  usage,  and  such  widely  divergent,  not  to 
say  contradictory,  meaning  in  the  use  of  these  terms,  affords 
but  a  poor  basis  whereon  to  ground  the  anticipation  of  finding 
in  j3a7TTi!^w  "  a  definite  act,  mode  and  nothing  but  mode,  one 
meaning  through  all  Grreek  literature." 

But  the  facts  of  usage,  only,  have  authority;  let  us  hear 
them. 

First,  let  us  inquire  into  the  testimony  of  the  corresponding 
English  and  Latiii  words.  Immerse  and  Mergo. 


XVI  RENEWED   INVESTIGATION. 


III. 


IMMERSE. 

Immerse  and  dip  are  confounded  together  by  Baptist 
writers,  and  interchanged  at  will.  There  is  no  authority  for 
so  doing. 

Meaning  :  To  cause  to  he  in  a  state  of  intusposition  without 
limitation  of  depth,  or  time,  or  force,  or  object,  or  mode  of  accom- 
plishment. 

In  all  of  these  particulars  it  is  in  irreconcilable  contrast 
with  dip.  Dip  performs  an  act  upon  its  object  transitory  and 
limited  in  all  directions.  It  does  not  put  its  object  in  a  new 
state  or  condition. 

Immerse  makes  no  demand  for  the  performance  of  any  defi- 
nite act.  It  does  demand  state,  condition,  intusposition.  This 
state  is  of  indefinite  continuance  ;  it  may  be  changed  by  the 
intervention  of  foreign  influence,  but  it  is  never  changed  by 
immerse.  In  mersion,  brevity  of  continuance  is  an  accident, 
not  belonging  to  the  state;  in  dipping,  brevity  of  continuance, 
is  of  the  essence  of  the  act,  and  is  always  present.  The  acci- 
dental feature  of  brevity,  cannot  convert  a  state  of  mersion 
into  an  act  of  dipping.  The  compounding  preposition  "m" 
denotes  position  only,  and  not  movenient.  Immerse  is  used  to 
express  thorough  influence  of  any  kind. 

Booth,  Chalmers,  Cowper,  Current  Literature,  Dr.  Kane, 
Pope,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Young. 

Bdnru),  tingo,  dip,  touch  at  all  points;  immerse  is  separated 
from  each  at  all  points. 

MEEGO. 

1.  Mergo  expresses  no  form  of  act.  2.  It  is  alike  indiflerent 
to  the  movement  of  the  object  or  the  element.  3.  Its  object 
may  be  a  grain  of  sand  or  a  world.  4.  The  time  of  its  mer- 
sion is  without  limit.  5.  The  force  it  may  call  into  action  has 
no  bound.  6.  It  demands  intusposition  for  its  object,  and  with 
this  is  satisfied. 

Secondary  Use. — 1.  It  expresses  a  condition  resultant  from 


RENEWED   INVESTIGATION.  Xvii 

some  controlling  influence.  2.  Absolutely,  it  expresses  (gener- 
ally) destructive  influence.  3.  Specifically,  it  means  to  drown, 
to  make  drunk. 

Catullus,  Curtius,  Horace,  Juvenal,  Livy,  Lucan,  Lucretius, 
Martial,  Ovid,  Pliny,  Statius,  Quintillian,  Valerius  Flaccus, 
Virgil. 

Mergo  and  immerse,  with  some  specialties  of  use,  are  in  per- 
fect hai-mony.  Mergo  is  in  broad  contrast,  throughout  all  its 
usage,  with  ^dizzu),  tingo,  and  dip. 


BAnriza. 

What  is  its  Usage  ? 

Use  is  of  supreme  authority,  and  the  rule  in  the  language. 

1. 

BaTtTi^oj  expresses  intusposition  without  influence. 

Aristotle,  Archias,  Julian  the  Egyptian,  Lucian,  Orpheus, 
Plutarch,  Polybius,  Porphyry,  Strabo. 

1.  Ba-Tt^u)  is  without  limitation  as  to  power,  object,  dura- 
tion, and  form  of  action. 

2.  Expressing  no  form  of  act,  it  accepts  of  all  forms  of  act 
competent  to  efi'ect  its  demand. 

3.  The  confusion  of  ISolt^toj  and  ^anri^o)  is  a  grave  error  and 
without  excuse. 

4.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Baptist  system — "  Baptizing  is 
Dipping,  and  Dipping  is  Baptizing" — is  pure  error. 

5.  While  some  objects  are  uninfluenced  by  intusposition 
within  a  fluid,  most  objects  will  be  thoroughly  influenced  by 
being  placed  in  such  a  condition. 

2. 

It  expresses  intusposition  with  influence. 

1.  Vessels  sunk  by  storm.  2.  Vessels  and  persons  sunk  by 
weight.  3.  Animals,  &c,,  mersed  by  the  flowing  or  uprising 
of  water  and  of  blood.  4.  "Drowned"  or  "drunk"  by  mer- 
sion  continued  four  days.     5.  Mersion  of  the  soul. 

Achilles  Tatius,   -(Esop,  Alexander  Aphrodisias,  Diodorus 


XVlll  RENEWED   INVESTIGATION. 

Siculus,  Dion  Cassius,  Epictetus,  Eubulus,  Heliodorus,  Hippoc- 
rates, Homer,  Plotinus,  Plutarch,  Polybius,  Strabo,  Suidas. 

3. 

Intusposition  for  influence. 

1.  To  drown.  2.  To  saturate.  3.  To  incrust.  4.  To  de- 
stroy vessels. 

^sop,  Achilles  Tatius,  Alcibiades,  Dion  Cassius,  Heliodorus, 
Heimerius,  Hippocrates,  Lucian,  Nicander,  Polyaenus,  Plu- 
tarch, Polybius,  Strabo,  Themistius. 

4. 

Influence  with  rhetorical  figure. 

1.  Overflowing  wave.     2.  Tempest. 

Chariton  Aphrodisias,  Dion  Cassius,  Libanius,  Pindar. 


Figurative  language. 

Figure  becomes  worn  out  by  constant  use.  Any  word 
which,  originally  metaphorical  in  its  use,  has  secured  for 
itself  a  well-defined  meaning,  diverse  from  literal  use,  lays 
aside  the  character  of  figure  and  takes  its  place  among  literal 
words. 

BaitriZu),  through  daily  and  long-continued  use,  has  secured 
a  secondary  use,  convej'ing  an  idea  derived,  but  dissociated, 
from  the  primary  use,  which  gives  it  a  status  of  its  own  with- 
out recurring  to  the  source  whence  it  sprang. 

Carson,  Blair,  Quintillian. 


SECONDAET  USE. 
Controlling  Influence — General. 

1. 

Without  Intusposition. 

Achilles  Tatius,  jEsop,  Alciphron,  Alexander  Aphi'odisias, 
Demosthenes,  Demetrius,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Heliodorus,  Heim- 
erius, Libanius,  Plotinus,  Plutarch,  Proclus,  Themistius. 


RENEWED    INVESTIGATION.  XIX 

The  changes  now  shown  to  have  taken  place  in  ^a-rriZw — 
viz.,  1.  Intusposition  without  influence;  2.  Intusposition  with 
influence;  3.  Intusposition  for  influence;  and  4.  Influence  with- 
out intusposition — find  a  complete  parallel  and  vindication  in 
those  changes  which  have  been  shown  to  take  place  in  the 
usage  of  ^dnrco,  viz.,  1.  Dipping  without  dyeing;  2.  Dipping 
for  dyeing ;  3.  Dyeing  without  dijyping. 

Bd-Tu) — 1.  Dij^s  without  dyeing.  2.  Dips  for  dyeing.  3. 
Dyes  without  dipping. 

BaTzriZu) — 1.  Merses  without  influence.  2.  Merses  for  in- 
fluence.    3.  Influences  loithout  mersing. 

So,  Steep — 1.  Intusposes.  2.  Intusposes  for  influence.  3. 
Influences  without  intusposing. 

BaTZTiZu),  used  absolutely,  or  with  appropriate  case,  in  un- 
physical  relations,  exj)resses,  directly  and  not  figuratively,  con- 
trolling iniuence.  The  modality  of  position,  out  of  which  this 
idea  grows,  has  disappeared. 

2. 

CONTUOLLING   INFLUENCE — SPECIFIC 

Without  Intusposition. 

Some  things  exert  over  certain  objects  a  definite'  and  un- 
varying influence.  Water  exerts  over  all  human  beings, 
mersed  in  it,  the  specific  influence  of  suffocation — droivning. 

"Wine  freely  drunk,  makes  drunk.  An  opiate  swallowed,  stu- 
pefies. When  pa-Ti%a}  is  used  to  express  the  condition  result- 
ing fi-om  these  influences  (as  it  very  frequently  is),  it  no  longer 
expresses  controlling  influence  generally;  but  expresses,  from 
the  necessity  of  the  case,  that  specific  influence  which  be- 
longs to  water — to  drown;  or  to  wine — to  make  drunk;  or  to 
an  opiate — to  stupefy. 

Whatever  breadth  of  meaning  any  word  may  be  possessed 
of,  if  it  be  persistently  used  to  denote  a  condition,  such  as 
results  from  wine  drinking  and  kindred  influences,  deeply 
marked  and  of  unvarying  uniformity,  it  cannot  but  be,  that 
the  idea  of  such  condition  becomes  incorporated  in  the  word. 
To  drink  has  a  very  broad  application;  but  persistently  used 
to  express  the  drinking  of  intoxicating  liquors,  "  a  drinking 

2 


XX  RENEWED   INVESTIGATION. 

man"  conies  to  express  a  drunken  man.  The  Greek  word  has 
great  breadth  of  application;  but  used  familiarly,  and  long, 
to  express  the  condition  induced  by  wine-influence,  it  comes 
to  express  directly  the  state  of  drunkenness. 

Some  of  the  specific  conditions  expressed  by  this  word,  and 
which  render  its  translation  by  an  appropriate  terra  justifi- 
able, if  not  compulsory,  are  as  follows: 

1.  To  bring  into  a  condition  of  stupor — to  stupefy  ;  by  swal- 
lowing an  opiate. 

2.  To  bring  into  a  state  of  drunkenness — to  make  drunk}  by 
drinking  wine. 

3.  To  bring  into  a  state  of  coldness — to  make  coldj  by  pour- 
ing water  on  hot  iron. 

4.  To  bring  into  a  state  of  bewilderment — to  bewilder;  by 
asking  sophistical  questions.  • 

5.  To.  bring  into  an  unintoxicating  state — to  temper  wine ;  by 
pouring  water  through  it. 

6.  To  bring  into  a  state  of  pureness — to  purify;  by  using 
sea-water  in  any  way. 

Achillea  Tatius,  Athenaeus,  Conon,  Evenus,  Homer.  Alleg., 
Lucian,  Plato,  Plutarch. 

From  such  usage,  figure  (dipping!)  has  irrecoverably  dis- 
appeared. 

Parabaptists. 
a  class  of  persons  op  defective  character. 

Implied  contrast  with  persons  who  are  Baptists — persons 
of  decided  character,  who  are  under  some  controlling  in- 
fluence. 

Arrian. 

General  Eesults. 

1.  Certain  old  and  long-cherished  errors  have  been  corrected 
and  abandoned. 

2.  Other  errors  yet  remain  to  be  corrected. 

3.  Usage  has  spoken  freely,  and  been,  I  trust,  reported 
truly. 


RENEWED    INVESTIGATION.  XXl 

Usage  declares  : 

1.  Bdnrw,  tingo,  and  dip  to  be  equivalent  terms  in  their  orig- 
inal import,  and,  also,  that  they  run  parallel,  in  a  remai'kable 
degree,  ia  all  the  variations  of  their  development. 

2.  Usage  bears  the  same  testimony  to  the  common  nature 
and  kindred  development  of  ^^aTm'Cw,  mergo,  and  merse. 

3.  As  the  former  class  of  terms  agrees,  essentially,  in  all  its 
members,  so  it  is  in  essential  disagreement  with  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  latter  class. 

BaTZTW. 

1.  Puts  its  object  into  a  simple  fluid  element,  and  withdraws 
it  promptly. 

2.  Changes  the  state  or  quality  of  its  object,  as  to  color, 
by  putting  into  coloring  liquid. 

3.  Changes  the  state  or  quality  of  its  object,  as  to  color,  by 
pressure,  sprinkling,  or  otherwise. 

4.  Changes  the  state  or  quality  of  its  object  where  color  is 
not  involved. 

Banri^o). 

1.  Intusposes  its  object  within  a  fluid  element  without  provid- 
ing for  its  removal. 

2.  Influences,  controllingly,  its  object  by  intusposition. 

3.  Influences,  controllingly,  its  object  without  intusposition. 

4.  It  drowns.     It  makes  drunk. 

Ba-rtT'Xui  expresses  any  complete  change  of  condition  by  what- 
soever agency  effected,  or  in  whatsoever  way  applied. 


TEST    OF    TRUTH. 

A  master  key  proves  its  character  by  throwing  back  the 
bolts  of  every  lock  to  which  it  is  applied. 

The  meaning  assigned  to  ^ar.ri^ut  gives  proof  that  it  ia  such 
a  master  key.  Applied  to  every  passage  of  classical  Greek  in 
which  the  word  is  used,  a  clear  and  adequate  solution  is  at 
once  revealed. 


XXU  RENEWED  INVESTIGATION. 

Try  the  opposing  meaning — a  definite  act — and  fashion  a 
key  after  that  principle  (of  what  model  you  will),  dip,  plunge, 
sink,  overflow,  or  what  not,  and  each  must,  in  turn,  be  thrown 
aside  in  utter  disappointment.  The  usage  of  /Sa-rt'^w  cannot 
be  "mastered"  by  any  effort  in  that  direction. 

Abandon  all  such  endeavor,  and  apply  the  meaning — Con- 
dition : 

(1.)  Condition  of  complete  intusposition  ;. 

(2.)  Condition  of  complete  influence  ; 

And  we  have  a  key  which  opens  every  passage,  "as  on 
golden  hinges  turning." 

The  meaning  assigned  throws  light  upon  the  origin  of  the 
conflicting  views  so  long  maintained,  and  their  relations  to  the 
truth. 

1.  On  the  one  side  we  have  dip.  The  origin  of  this  meaning 
ia  traceable,  most  unmistakably,  to  ^dTzrm.  It  is  an  intruder 
within  the  domain  of  ^aizri^u),  and,  as  such,  should  be  uncere- 
moniously dismissed. 

2.  Plunge,  sink,  overflow,  are  traceable  to  [iaTz-ri'^uj  as  among 
the  accidents  of  form  through  which  it  secures  its  essential 
demand  of  condition  j  while  the  attributing  of  such  accidents 
to  the  essence  of  the  word,  involves  the  absurdity  of  making 
the  same  word  express  many  definite  acts  diverse  and  contra- 
dictory in  form. 

3.  On  the  other  side  we  have  four  and  sprinkle.  These 
forms  of  action  are  not  the  most  natural  servitors  of  ^a-ri^oj. 
And  yet  their  competency  to  fulfil  this  duty,  under  favorable 
circumstances,  is  admitted  by  some  of  the  ablest  Baptist 
writers.  But  it  is  in  baptisms  of  influence  where  these  words 
have  their  just  and  appropriate  use. 

To  say  that  baptism  may  be  by  such  acts,  is  to  declare  a 
truth;  but  to  make  [ia-zi'^u)  mean  to  pour  or  to  sprinkle,  is  an 
error  similar  to  that  into  which  those  of  the  other  side  have 
fallen. 

The  explanation  of  the  protracted  conflict  would  seem  to 
be  a  repetition  of  the  history  of  the  struggle  beneath  "the 
shield  with  its  golden  and  silver  side." 

All  the  truth  has  not  been  in  view. 


CLASSIC  BAPTISM, 


WITH   A   VIEW   TO    ITS    BEARIN<}   ON 


CHRISTIAN  BAPTISM. 


PART  I. 


Three  centuries  have  witnessed  the  continued  discussion 
of  the  meaning  of  the  word  fta-zt^w,  and  the  proper  man- 
ner of  administering  the  rite  of  Christian  Baptism. 

One  hundredth  part  of  this  time  woukl  seem  to  have 
been  sufficient  to  gather  together  all  the  materials  in- 
volved in  such  discussion,  and  to  have  issued  a  judgment, 
based  upon  them,  from  which  there  could  have  been  no 
hox^eful  appeal.  And  if  this  has  not  been  done  most 
exhaustively,  the  fact  is  marvellous;  but  if  it  has  been 
done,  it  is  no  less  marvellous  that  the  judgment  reached 
has  not  compelled  universal  acceptance. 

The  mind  is  not  at  liberty  to  accept  or  to  reject  the  tnith 
when  presented  distinctly  before  it,  with  its  evidences;  it 
must  accept  it. 

In  examining  this  subject,  with  exclusive  reference  to 
personal  instruction,  it  has  appeared  to  me  that  the  in- 
vestigation has  not  been,  adequately,  carried  out  in  certain 
directions.  This  has  arisen,  doubtless,  from  the  little 
promise  which  seemed  to  be  held  out  of  valuable  results 
from  such  inquiry.  Sometimes,  hoAvever,  our  anticipa- 
tions receive  favorable  disappointment.     It  may  be  so  iti 

(21) 


22  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

this  case.  And  I  submit  the  results  gathered  up,  not  only 
along  the  main  route  of  inquiry,  but  in  some  of  its  less 
fully  explored  collateral  branches,  in  the  hope  of  assisting 
to  a  final  and  generally  acceptable  judgment.  If  I  shall 
fail  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  materials  furnished,  more 
skilful  hands  may  take  them  and  find  their  labors  crowned 
with  greater  success. 

There  is  a  large  and  respectable  class  of  persons  who 
will  consider  this  whole  inquiry  a  work  of  supererogation. 
They  say  that  the  work  has  been  done,  well  done;  all  the 
truth  has  been  evolved,  and  that  now  "  it  is  not  so  much 
light  that  is  needed  as  honesty." 

So  fully  convinced  are  we  of  the  "  honesty"  of  these 
persons,  that  we  accept  it,  at  once,  with  or  without  their 
affirmation;  and  because  we  do,  gladly  place  ourselves 
within  the  clear  shining  of  their  "  light,"  hoping  that  no 
"lack  of  honesty"  will  either  cloud  our  perception  or 
silence  our  confession.  Wisdom  and  duty  alike  demand 
that  we  should  pursue  this  course.  If  absolute  truth  has 
been  already  reached  through  the  labors  of  others,  it  will 
be  less  laborious  to  pass  over  a  path  already  trodden,  and 
to  examine  results  already  wrought  out;  and  if  these  re- 
sults are  luminous  with  uncolored  truth,  as  they  are  said 
to  be,  then  it  is  a  privilege  and  a  duty  cordially  to  accept 
them. 

This  course  I  propose  to  adopt.  If  the  course  of  inves- 
tigation and  results  reached,  b}^  our  Baptist  brethren,  are 
beyond  impeachment,  after  due  examination,  then  our 
task  will  be  ended;  but  if  otherwise,  then  even  they  will 
confess  that  "light"  may  be  sought  at  some  other  source 
without  necessarily  abandoning  "  religious  honesty." 

BAPTIST  POSTULATES. 

Baptist  writers  demand  the  acceptance  as  verities,  by  all 
lovers  of  truth,  of  certain  general  results  reached  by  them 
in  their  investigations. 

Among  these  are  the  following : 


*  SIR   WILLIAM   HAMILTON.  23 

I.  BanTi^u),  throvghoid  (he  entire  course  of  Greek  literature^ 
has  but  one  meaning,  icldch  is  definite,  clear,  ^^recf^e,  and  easy 
of  translation. 

This  proposition  is  not  self-luminous  with  truth.  The 
demand  for  its  acceptance,  therefore,  cannot  reasonahlj  be 
expected  to  follow  on  its  mere  enunciation.  Apology  for 
this  hesitancy  may  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  if  this  propo- 
sition embodies  a  truth,  it  is  a  very  unusual  one.  Few- 
things  are  more  rare  in  the  history  of  language  than  to 
find  a  word  used  by  a  cultivated  people  for  ages  in  the 
same  absolute  sense.  In  farther  vindication  of  this  hesi- 
tancy, allow  me  to  present  the  following  quotation  from 
Sir  "William  Hamilton : 

"And  here  it  is  expedient  to  take  into  account  two 
circumstances,  which  mutually  atiect  each  other.  The 
first  is  that  the  vocabulary  of  every  language  is  necessarily 
finite,  it  is  necessarily  disproportioned  to  the  multiplicity, 
not  to  say  infinity,  of  thought;  and  the  second,  that  the 
complement  of  words  in  any  given  language  has  been 
always  filled  up  with  terms  significant  of  objects  and  rela- 
tions of  the  external  world,  before  the  want  was  experi- 
enced of  words  to  express  the  objects  and  relations  of  the 
internal." 

"  Either  words  of  a  language  must  each  designate  only 
a  single  notion — a  single  fasciculus  of  thought — the  multi- 
tude of  notions  not  designated  being  allowed  to  perish;  or 
the  words  of  a  language  must  each  be  employed  to  denote 
a  plurality  of  concepts.  ...  Of  these  alternatives,  the 
latter  is  the  one  which  has  been  universally  preferred; 
and,  according!}^,  all  languages  by  the  same  word  express 
a  multitude  of  thoughts,  more  or  less  differing  from  each 
other." — Logic,  p.  436. 

My  object,  now,  is  not  to  disprove  the  above  postulate, 
but  merely  to  look  at  it  as  the  fruit  of  Baptist  labors,  and 
see  whether  it  carries  on  the  face  of  it  justification  for  the 
bold  demand  which  it  makes  for  acceptance.  The  impres- 
sion made  is,  that  farther  evidence,  and  a  good  deal  of  it, 
is  needed  to  mate  good  such  a  point. 


2-4  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

n.  BarM^u)  and  ^dr.rv)  licive  jwedsdy  the  same  meaning,  dye- 
in  (j  excepted;  in  all  other  respects,  vjhcther  as  to  form,  or  force, 
or  effect,  they  differ  neither  more  nor  less. 

This  proposition  constitutes  another  demand  for  accept- 
ance on  the  ground  of  unquestionable  truth.  We  are  com- 
pelled, however,  again  to  hesitate.  And  in  apology  we 
offer  this  query:  Is  it  usual  for  language  to  repeat  itself? 

If  it  be  true  that  all  nations  have  been  compelled, 
through  the  paucity  of  words,  to  use  "  each  one  to  denote 
a  plurality  of  concepts,"  is  it  not  something  for  wonder 
that  the  Greeks  should  employ  two  words  to  express  the 
same  identical  conception  ? 

2.  We  remember,  also,  that  we  hare  been  asked,  here- 
tofore, to  adopt  this  same  proposition  v/ithout  any  excep- 
tion. It  may  be  that  complete  truth  has  not  been  3*et 
reached,  and  that  the  list  of  exceptions  will  go  on  to  in- 
crease until  these  words  shall  be  found  to  be  in  harmony 
with  that  broad  law  of  language — one  word  for  many 
concepts,  but  not  two  words  for  one. 

3.  We  are  not  sure  that  all  possible  differences  between 
these  words  have  been  well  considered.  Points  of  resem- 
blance may,  through  prepossession  for  a  certain  conclusion, 
have  claimed  an  attention  which  induced  unconsciousness 
of  existent  clifl'erences.  "  Words  are  often  employed  with 
a  plurality  of  meaning,  several  of  which  may  quadrate,  or 
be  supposed  to  quadrate,  w^ith  the  general  tenor  of  the 
discourse.  Error  is  thus  possible ;  and  it  is  also  probable, 
if  we  have  any  prepossession  in  favor  of  one  interpretation 
rather  than  another." — Sir  W.  IT.    Logic,  437. 

Baptist  writers  are  not  the  only  ones  who  may  be  sup- 
posed to  "have  a  prepossession  in  favor  of  one  interpreta- 
tion rather  than  another"  in  the  case  before  us;  but  I 
suppose  they  can  hardly  claim  exemption  from  this  dis- 
turbing influence. 

m.  Ba-rri^oi  cxpresscs  au  act,  a  definite  act;  mode,  and  noth- 
ing but  mode;  to  dip.     Bdrzru)  {primary)  c:g)resses  an  act,  a  . 
dflnlic  act;  mode,  and  nothing  bat  mode;  to  dip. 


BAPTIST   POSTULATES.  25 

Before  giving  in  adhesion  to  the  demand  for  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  tlie  identity  of  these  words  as  expressed  in 
this  concrete  form,  I  would  like  to  know  whether  the 
various  phases  assumed  by  the  class  of  verhs  to  which 
they  belong  have  been  maturely  considered  iu  their  bear- 
ings upon  both,  separately  and  jointly. 

Active  transitive  verbs  admit  of  numerous  subdivisions 
possessed  of  characteristics  by  no  means  unimportant. 
Among  the  divisions  will  be  found,  1.  Words  which,  di- 
rectly, express  action.  2.  Words  which,  directly,  express 
condition. 

Baptist  writers  say  that  the  two  words  under  consider- 
ation belong  to  the  former  of  these  classes  and  not  to  the 
latter.  lias  this  ever  been  proved?  Has  it  ever  been 
attempted?  Possibly;  but  if  so,  it  has  never  come  under 
my  notice.  And  as  there  is  no  self-evidencing  power  in 
the  statement,  I  must  hesitate  in  my  faith. 

Words  which,  directly,  express  action  are  still  farther 
divided  into,  1.  Words  which  express  action,  generally. 
2.  Words  which  express  action,  particularly.  To  the 
former  of  these  classes  belong  such  words  as  to  do,  to  work, 
to  move,  &c.  To  the  second  class  belong  to  dig,  to  roll,  to 
speak,  and  the  like. 

To  this  latter  class,  it  is  said,  pdr.rio  and  ^aTrriXu)  must  both 
be  attached.  But  has  this  ever  been,  distinctively,  proved? 
Suppose  that  we  should  be  willing  to  admit  that  one  of 
them,  /Sdnru),  for  example,  did  belong  here,  but  felt  some 
embarrassment  in  making  such  admission  as  to  the  other; 
is  it  unreasonable  to  ask  to  be  relieved  from  pressure  on 
this  point  until  some  proof  shall  be  adduced? 

Farther;  among  words  which  express  action  in  some 
definite  form,  there  are,  1.  Those  which  express  action 
characterized  by  rapidity  and  force.  2.  Those  which  are 
marked  by  comparative  slowness  and  gentleness.  To  the 
former  belongs  j^lunge.  To  the  latter  belongs  dip.  Wlien 
Baptist  writers  say  that  /5a7rro>  and  /5a-T£Cw  mean  "  to  dij),'' 
do  they  mean,  understandingly,  to  say  that  they  belong  to 
a  class  of  verbs  characterized  by  a  movement  "  slow  and 


26  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

gentle,"  and  not  to  that  class  which  has  the  elements 
of  "  rapidity  and  power  ?"  They  cannot  helong  to  both 
classes.  If  Baptist  writers  have  failed  to  mark  this  dis- 
crimination, and  have  failed  to  test,  by  nsage,  the  true 
classification  of  each  of  these  words,  they  must  not  be 
astonished  if  there  is  questioning,  instead  of  unqualified 
acceptance,  of  their  conclusions. 

But  what  shall  be  said  of  that  very  large  class  of  words 
which  does  not  express,  immediately,  action  either  def- 
initely or  indefinitely,  and  therefore  neither  powerfully 
nor  feebly,  but  which  expresses,  directly,  result,  state,  con- 
dition ?  Such  as  to  put,  to  set,  to  lay,  expressive  of  condition 
as  to  place ;  to  pen,  to  surround,  to  inclose,  expressive  of  con- 
dition characterized  by  some  encircling  material ;  and  to 
cover,  to  bury,  to  lolielm,  expressing  condition  marked  by 
envelopment  on  all  sides  ? 

As  verbs  which  embody  an  act  represent  power,  greater 
or  less,  through  the  act  which  they  indicate;  so  verbs 
which  shadow  forth  condition  denote  influence,  greater  or 
less,  through  the  nature  of  such  condition. 

To  place  an  object  momentarily  within  a  fluid,  is  to 
place  it  in  a  condition  where  the  influence  exerted  upon 
it  will  be  of  the  feeblest  character.  To  place  an  object 
within  a  fluid  element,  indefinitely,  is  to  place  it  in  a  con- 
dition where  the  influence  exerted  upon  it  will  be  of  the 
strongest  possible  character. 

To  dip  is  an  act  by  which  the  former  condition  is  eflected; 
to  merse  is  a  condition  of  the  latter  kind  effected  by  any 
competent  act,  the  nature  and  form  of  which  are  undefined 
and  of  absolute  indifference. 

These  classes  of  words  are  separated  from  each  other  by 
a  great  gulf,  so  that  there  is  no  passage  from  the  one  side 
to  the  other  witliout  an  essential  change  in  the  nature  of 
the  word. 

Have  Baptist  writers  maturely  considered  these  distinc- 
tions, and  come  to  a  critical  judgment,  in  view  of  a  full 
induction  of  facts,  that  /9a7rrw  and  (ia-ri'^iu  do  neither  both 
nor  either  belong  to  verbs  of  condition,  but  do  both  belong 


BAPTIST    POSTULATES.  27 

to  verbs  expressive  of  action,  and  more  limitedlj  to  verbs 
expressive  of  definite  action  ? 

If  tbey  have  so  done,  I  know  not  wliere  tbey  Lave  bid- 
den tbe  frnit  of  tbeir  labors,  and  until  these  shall  be  re- 
vealed I  plead  against  the  demand  to  accept  a  conclusion 
which  ignores  the  existence  of  a  class  of  words  which  are 
in  nature  and  development  radically  different  from  "  an 
act,  a  definite  act;  mode  and  nothing  but  mode;  to  dip." 

IV.  Bar.riZw  has  the  same  meaning  in  figurative  as  in  literal 
use,  always  referring  to  the  act  of  dipping. 

Subscription  to  this  demand,  as  truth,  may  be  given  or 
withheld  according  to  the  idea  attached  to  the  "figurative" 
use  of  language.  "Words  are  sometimes  used  in  connec- 
tions where  literality  of  meaning  is  impossible,  and  yet 
where  it  is  no  less  manifest  that  it  is  designed  to  place  the 
literal  use  vividly  before  the  mind  for  greater  effect.  In 
such  cases  of  transference  of  words  from  physical  to  m^eta- 
physical  relations,  in  order  to  xiwaken  the  intellect  by 
unwonted  combination,  and  thus  produce  a  profounder 
effect;  the  word  carries  its  meaning  with  it,  and  produces 
its  awakening  effect  only  because  it  does  convey  such 
meaning. 

But  where  words  once  used  in  material  relations  are 
now  used  in  immaterial,  and  that  every  day,  and  without 
design  on  the  part  of  the  speaker  to  utter  figure,  and  by 
reason  of  familiarity  incapable  of  producing  any  such  im- 
pression on  the  mind  of  the  hearer, — in  a  word,  the  simple, 
necessary,  universal  tropical  use  of  words  should  not  be 
considered  as  figure. 

If,  however,  Baptist  writers  insist  that  such  prosaic  use 
of  language  must  be  dignified  by  the  title  of  figure,  we 
must  wholly  decline  the  acceptance  of  their  proposition. 
Its  contradictory  proposition,  /3a--:Cw,  never  carries  into 
secondary  or  tropical  use,  unmodified,  its  primary  or  literal 
use,  is  nearer  the  truth.  This  must  be  so  in  the  nature 
of  things.  Words  in  trope  and  metaphor  make  meanings 
for  themselves,  and  the  same  word  is  variously  modified 


28  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 

in  meaning,  to  fit  in  the  various  relations  in  wliicTi  from 
time  to  time  it  finds  itself.  And  when  the  special  friends 
of  /3a-7-:Tw  run  for  a  solution  of  every  tropical  and  meta- 
phorical use  to  the  water,  they  will  find  that  such  course 
will  be  suggestive  largely,  to  others,  of  the  ridiculous  and 
the  absurd,  as  well  as  the  impossible. 

The  tropical  or  secondary  use  of  words  is  of  great  value 
as  reflecting  light  back  upon  the  primary  use.  And  as 
it  is  true  in  language,  as  well  as  in  everything  else,  that 
an  original  divergence  is  made  increasingly  manifest  the 
farther  progress  is  made  from  the  starting-point,  words 
whose  divergence  was  not  so  manifest  in  primary,  literal 
use,  will  reveal  it  more  strikingly  as  they  pass  on  to  meta- 
phor, trope,  and  secondary  use. 

In  general,  words  which  literally  are  directly  expressive 
abaction  will  be  employed  in  metaphor  to  denote /orcT,  not 
physical  but  mental  and  moral ;  and  words  which  literally 
are  directly  expressive  of  condition,  find  their  use  in  meta- 
phor to  denote  influence. 

Some  words,  while  expressing  a  definite  act,  carry  witli 
them  some  result  inseparable  from  that  act.  The  second- 
ary use  will  develop  sometimes  one,  sometimes  another 
aspect  of  such  words.  To  this  class  belongs  dip.  Its 
secondary  use  gives  prominence  sometimes  to  the  act, 
sometimes  to  the  efifect  of  the  act,  always  characterized  by 
feebleness  and  limitation.  If  at  any  time  it  appears  to 
pass  beyond  these  boundaries,  the  explanation  will  be 
found  in  some  adventitious  circumstance,  in  the  nature  of 
the  object  or  the  character  of  the  element;  not,  therefore, 
inherent  in  the  word. 

The  secondary  use  of  77ierse  never  stands  related  to  any 
form  of  act,  but  is  always  used  to  express  the  development 
of  influence  in  the  fullest  measure  of  which  the  case  will 
admit. 

The  contrast  between  dij^  and  nicrse  is  absolute.  ' 

As  we  shall  have  largely  to  do  with  the  secondary  use 
of  ,3a-TiX(o,  it  seemed  desirable,  at  once,  to  bring  it  into 
prominent  view,  with  distinct  intimation  of  the  diflferent 


BAPTIST    POSTULATES.  29 

value  attached  to  it,  compared  with  that  maintained  by 
Baptist  writers. 

It  is  admitted,  on  all  hands,  that  words  once  used  figur- 
atively may  cease  to  have  a  figurative  use  ascribed  to 
them.  The  ground  of  this  change  is  to  be  found  in  fre- 
quency of  use,  and  the  attainment  thereby  of  power  to 
express  a  modified  thought  of  their  own.  Ilorne  Tooke 
and  others  have  shown  that  all  of  our  prepositions,  con- 
junctions, adverbs,  adjectives,  and  abstract  substantives, 
are  referable  to  nouns  or  verbs,  describing  sensible  ideas. 
These  words,  in  their  first  use,  had  all  the  vividness  and 
force  of  figure;  but  they  have  so  no  longer. 

Whenever  a  word  or  phrase  becomes  so  familiar  in  form 
or  application  as  no  longer  to  be  suggestive,  to  speaker  or 
hearer,  of  physical  ideas,  but  conveys,  on  enunciation,  an 
idea  of  its  own,  it  ceases,  in  fact,  to  be  figurative,  and  we 
should  cease  to  treat  it  as  such. 

There  are  cases  in  which  we  may  feel  embarrassment 
whether  to  assign  a  secondary  or  a  figurative  meaning  to 
a  word  or  phrase. 

Take  an  example  which  happens  to  be,  this  moment, 
under  my  eye. 

"  Had  Mr.  Harris  and  others,  instead  of  diving  deeper 
than  they  had  occasion  into  Aristotelian  mysteries,  con- 
tented themselves  with  observing  plain  facts,  they  would 
soon  have  perceived,  ....  Whereas,  in  the  way  they 
proceeded,  their  labor  was  immense,  and"  .  .  .  — Dicers, 
of  Purley,  xiii. 

IsTow,  the  form  of  the  phraseology,  "  diving  into  Aristo- 
telian mysteries,"  is  fully  figurative,  and  if  its  words  be 
considered  disjunctly,  "dive"  can  only  be  regarded  in  its 
literal  sense,  and  "Aristotelian  mysteries"  as  an  element 
into  which  "  Mr.  Harris"  plunges  head  foremost.  Antl 
some  might  say  that  this  must  be  and  is  the  only  way  in 
which  it  can  be  treated.  Let  us  see.  Consider,  1.  That 
such  phraseological  combinations  are  exceedingly  com- 
mon. 2.  Such  fixmiliarity  of  use  educates  the  mind  to 
put  aside  the   physical    picturing,   and   to   see   only  the 


30  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

thought  which  is  the  outgrowth  of  that  picturing.  3.  Such 
phrases  corae  to  have  the  force  of  compound  words,  in 
which  its  several  parts  are  no  longer  to  be  treated  as  dis- 
tinct words,  but  only  as  syllabic  parts  of  one  whole,  con- 
veying a  new  idea.  4.  It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether 
any  physical  picture  of  "  Mr.  Harris  entering  head  fore- 
most into  Aristotelianisra,"  was  for  a  moment  before  the 
mind  of  the  writer,  or  intended  to  be  conveyed  to  the 
mind  of  his  reader.  There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  conception  before  his  mind  was  identical  with  that 
which  he  subsequently  expresses  by  saying  "  their  labor 
was  immense,'"  and  this  should  govern  the  interpretation. 
The  origin  of  the  phrase  is  another  matter.  Any  one 
who  chooses  to  treat  such  language  as  figure  will  find  in 
it  all  the  materials  necessary  for  his  purpose;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  any  one  who  prefers  to  regard  it  as  a  familiar 
and  organic  comljination,  possessed  of  unity  and  self-ex- 
pression, will  have  no  lack  of  material  for  his  vindication. 
It  is  wholly  immaterial  which  view  is  adopted,  so  far  as 
sentiment  is  concerned.  The  sentiment  reached  is  the 
same. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  it  may  be  well  to  remark 
that,  while  "  diving  into  Aristotelian  mysteries"  may  and 
does  well  express  "immense  labor,"  dipping  into  them 
neither  does  nor  can,  by  any  possibiUty,  express  any  such 
idea,  but  directly  the  opposite.  On  the  other  hand,  mer- 
sion  in  those  mysteries  Avould  express,  not  the  idea  of 
"  immense  labor, ^^  but  of  complete  influence  proceeding  from 
this  form  of  Aristotleism,  and  affecting  "Mr.  Harris  and 
others"  by  its  controlling  power. 

As  already  remarked,  dive,  primarily,  expressing  action 
characterized  by  rapidity  and  force  executed  head  fore- 
most, passes,  secondarily,  to  express  mental  activity,  "  im- 
mense labor;"  while  merse,  expressing,  primarily,  no  form 
of  force,  but  pointing  to  condition  of  intusposition,  comes 
to  denote,  secondarily,  not  activity  of  mind,  but  the  recep- 
tion by  it  of  controlling  influence.  I  cannot  accept  the 
Baptist  position  that  "/Ja^rrt'Cw  has  no  secondary  meaning; 


COUNTER    PROPOSITIONS.  31 

but  is  exclusively  employed  in  a  primary,  literal,  and  in  a 
figurative  sense,  without  any  modification  of  import;  al- 
ways meaning,  literally  and  figuratively,  to  dip,  and  noth- 
ing but  dip."  On  the  contrary,  I  cannot  but  regard  such 
statement  as  error,  and  nothing  but  error. 

PEOPOSITIONS  TO  BE  SUSTAINED  BY  PEOOP. 

Over  against  these  four  postulates,  nakedly  assumed,  or 
assumed  without  adequate  proof,  I  would  place  four  other 
propositions,  for  which  no  other  acceptance  is  asked  than 
that  which  may  be  secured  by  satisfactory  proof. 

The  statement  of  these  propositions  is  now  made  briefly 
and  incompletely,  to  be  filled  up  hereafter,  that  the  mind 
may  have  something  definite  to  rest  upon  as  the  inquiry 
progresses. 

They  are  as  follows : 

I.  BdTZTo},  ill  primary  use,  expresses  a  definite  act  characterized 
by  limitations — to  dip. 

II.  In  secondary  use,  ^^Dij)"  expresses  a  limited  mental  force, 
and  a  limited  effect. 

The  Greek  language  does  not  furnish  us,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  with  exemplifications  of  this  secondary  (metaphor- 
ical) use;  but  it  is  found  in  connection  with  the  corres- 
ponding words  in  the  Latin  and  English  languages. 

TIT.  BazTtZw,  in  primary  use,  expresses  condition  characterized 
by  complete  intusposition,  without  expressing,  and  with  absolute 
indifference  to  the  form  of  the  act  by  lohich  such  intusposition 
may  be  effected,  as,  also,  without  other  limitations — to  merse. 

IV.  In  secondary  use  it  expresses  condition  the  result  of  com- 
plete influence  effected  by  any  ^^ossible  means  and  in  any  con- 
ceivable way. 

If  any  one  should  be  disposed  to  imagine  that  between 
those  postulates  and  these  propositions  there  can  be  no 
such  difl'erence  as  to  revolutionize  results,  let  such  idea  be 
held  in  abeyance  until  we  patiently  trace  these  difierences 
to  their  ultimate  conclusions.     The  mathematician  who 


32  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

found  in  his  calculations  a  steadily  diminishing  element, 
and  concluded  that  it  might  safely  be  assumed  as  ulti- 
mately disappearing,  and,  therefore,  might  safely  be  ne- 
glected, was  disappointed  in  the  result  readied.  E"o  error 
being  visible,  and  the  verity  of  figures  being  proverbial, 
the  difficulty  was  inexplicable.  At  length  he  determined 
to  take  np  that  supposed  vanishing  quantity,  and  follow 
it  on  until  it  should,  in  very  deed,  merge  into  nothingness. 
In  so  doing,  however,  he  found,  to  his  great  surprise,  that 
as  it  dip'ped  into  the  outer  rim  of  zero,  it  refused  to  go 
farther;  but  returned  upon  its  path,  becoming  a  steadily 
increasing  quantity,  with  power  adequate  to  control  the 
mathematical  result. 

Assumption  is  dangerous,  whether  in  logic  or  mathe- 
matics. 

Let  us  assume  nothing  in  this  inquiry  as  too  unimportant 
to  be  investigated ;  and  we  may  find  that  even  the  dififer- 
ence  between  "dip"  and  "mcrse,"  when  faithfully  followed 
out,  becomes  no  vanishing  quantity,  but  a  growing  incre- 
ment, with  power  to  control,  happily  and  satisfactorily, 
our  investigation. 

BAPTIST  WKITEES. 

As  preliminary  to  a  direct  investigation  of  the  subject 
before  us,  it  seems  to  bo  desirable,  on  many  accounts,  to 
institute  an  examination  of  Baptist  writings,  to  see  how 
far  they  illuminate  and  sustain  their  favorite  postulates. 

If  they  do  squarely  and  harmoniously  maintain  them 
not  only  in  ihcsi,  but  do  unfalteringly  bear  them,  challeng- 
ing criticism,  "  through  all  Greek  literature,"  then  they 
will,  at  least,  win  tlie  not  ignoble  award  of  consistency  and 
courage;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  shall  bo  found,  that 
between  postulates  and  writings  there  is  no  harmony;  that 
between  writer  and  writer  there  is  as  little  harmony;  that 
the  pages  of  the  same  writer  compared  with  each  other 
perpetuate  this  disharmony;  that  there  never  has  been  an 
attempt  by  any  one  writer,  through  these  three  hundred 


WHAT    DOES    BAHTIZa    MEAN  ?  33 

years,  to  carry  these  postulates  "  tbrongh  all  Greek  litera- 
ture;" that  the  burden  which  they  would  bind  upon  others 
they  utterly  refuse  to  bear  themselves;  then  we  may  hope 
that  such  facts  will  be  deemed  a  fair  apology  for  declining 
this  Baptist  postulation,  and  a  sufhcient  justification  for  a 
direct  inquiry  after  that  great  desideratum — a  meaning 
of /9a-T£'Cw,  which  may  be  carried,  without  fear  and  without 
reproach,  through  all  Greek  literature. 

In  examining  Baptist  writings  there  must  be  some  limit- 
ation. It  is  not  practicable  to  go  over  all  such  writings, 
nor  is  it  necessary  to  go  back  indefinitely  as  to  time ;  I  will, 
therefore,  limit  myself  to  writers  of  representative  and 
generally  accredited  character,  and  to  that  period  which 
has  elapsed  since  Baptist  views  were  introduced  into  this 
country. 

WHAT  DOES  BAETlZfl  MEAN  ? 
"  It  means  to  dip,  and  nothing  but  dip." 

KoGER  Williams  and  Tractate  of  A.  U.,  1644. 

Roger  Williams  has  not  left  us,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
any  formal  writings  of  his  own  on  this  subject;  but  while 
he  was  on  a  visit  to  England,  there  was  a  treatise  pub- 
lished, which  he  brought  back  with  him  and  introduced 
into  this  country,  and  which,  therefore,  may  be  accepted 
as  embodying  his  own  views. 

Tljis  work  was  designated  as  a  "Tractate  by  A.  R., 
London,  1G44,"  The  title  which  it  bore  was,  "  Dipping  is 
Baptizhig,  and  Baptizing  is  Dipping."  Whether  the  defin- 
ition thus  given  by  this  tractate  be  true  or  not,  all  must 
admit  that  it  is  "definite,  clear,  and  precise,"  and  thus 
harmonizes  with  the  postulate.  We  are  not  merely  told 
baptize  and  dip  are  equivalents,  nor  yet  that  they  are 
counterparts,  duplicates,  but  that»thc  one  is  the  other,  and 
the  other  is  the  one ;  that  they  are  identical.  The  attire 
differs,  in  the  one  case  Grecian,  in  the  other  case  English; 
but  under  that  attire,  in  either  case,  appears  the  self-same 
personage. 

3 


34  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Beyond  tliis,  for  clefinitcncss,  clearness,  and  precision, 
definition  cannot  go.  These  words  do,  respectively,  ex- 
pound each  other  in  the  most  universal  and  absolute  man- 
ner. Whatever  differs  from  dip,  differs,  in  like  manner, 
from  baptize;  and  whatever  differs  from,  or  agrees  with, 
baptize,  does,  in  like  manner,  differ  from  and  agree  with 
dip.  There  is  neither  deficiency  nor  excess  in  the  one 
compared  with  the  other.  As  a  foot  is  twelve  inches  and 
twelve  inches  are  a  foot,  so  baptize  is  dip  and  dip  is  baptize. 

Now,  so  far  from  objecting  to  this  sharpness  of  defin- 
ition, we  feel  unfeignedly  grateful  for  it;  definition  and 
postulate  do  most  admirably  echo  each  other,  and  thus  our 
task  is  simplified  and  assisted. 

The  friends  of  the  Baptist  scheme  claim  it  as  a  glory 
that  its  doctrines  are  unambiguous,  its  definitions  are  pre- 
cise, and  that  its  ritual  service  demands  an  act  which  is 
definite  and  absolute.  Such  characteristics,  apart  from 
the  question  of  the  truth  of  the  scheme  to  which  they 
belong,  are  highly  meritorious.  If  they  belong  to  a  system 
of  truth,  they  will,  thus,  best  abide  assault;  and  if  with 
what  is  erroneous,  the  error  will  receive  most  speedy  and 
patent  revelation. 

While  Baptist  writers  give  a  testimony  one  and  unam- 
biguous, we  will  give  them  full  meed  of  praise.  Now,  we 
thank  "  A.  B."  for  his  "  definite,  clear,  and  precise"  utter- 
ance, announcing  that  "  Dipping  is  Baptizing,  and  Bap- 
tizing is  Dipping." 

"A.  Barber,  nis  Treatise  of  Dipping." 

This  was  another  publication  issued  at  London  in  the 
same  year  with  the  preceding.  Its  title  is  less  full  and 
perspicuous,  but  has  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  other. 
They  were  both,  doubtless,  intended  to  present  the  same 
front  as  to  one  single,  exclusive,  and  universal  meaning. 

That  this  identification  of  Dipping  and  Baptizing  was 
fully  recognized  at  the  time  by  opponents,  will  appear 
from  a  publication  issued  in  London,  1G45.     The  author 


BARBER — DR.    GALE.  85 

of  tills  work  was  Dr.  Featlj.  It  was  avowedly  an  answer 
to  "A.  R."  An  extract  will  show  that  the  issue  made, — 
*'  Dipping  is  Baptizing,  and  Baptizing  is  Dipping," — was 
controversially  accepted. 

Dr.  Featly  thus  writes :  "  But  the  question  is,  whether 
no  otlier  baptizing  is  lawful ;  or  whether  dipping  in  rivers 
is  so  necessary  to  Baptism,  that  none  are  accounted  bap- 
tized but  those  who  are  dipped  after  such  a  manner?  This, 
we  say,  is  false;  neither  do  any  of  the  texts  alleged  prove 
it.  It  is  true,  dipping  is  a  kind  of  baptizing;  but  all  bap- 
tizing is  not  dipping.  The  apostles  were  baptized  by  fire, 
yet  were  they  not  dipped  into  it.  Tables  and  beds  are 
said  to  be  baptized;  that  is,  washed,  yet  not  dipt.  The 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness  were  baptized  with  the  cloud, 
yet  not  dipt  into  it.  The  children  of  Zebedee  were  to  be 
baptized  with  the  baptism  of  blood  wherewith  our  Saviour 
was  baptized,  yet  neither  he  nor  they  were  dipt  into  blood. 
Lastly,  all  the  Fathers  speak  of  the  baptism  of  tears  where- 
with all  penitents  are  washed,  yet  there  is  no  dipping  in 
such  baptism,"  (pp.  45,  50.) 

This  quotation  is  made,  not  for  the  sake  of  its  argument 
(that  is  not  our  business  now) ;  but  to  show  that  the  assault, 
whether  successfully  or  unsuccessfully,  is  fairly  delivered 
against  the  position — **  Baptizing  is  Dipping,  and  Dipping 
is  Baptizing." 

Whether,  then,  we  look  at  the  language  itself,  or  at  the 
interpretation  given  to  it  on  its  enunciation,  all  must  admit 
that  the  Baptist  position  in  London,  in  1644,  and  thence 
transferred  to  Rhode  Island  by  Roger  Williams,  was  most 
unequivocaL 

Dr.  Gale.    London,  1711. 

'  Dipping  only  is  Baptism." 

More  than  half  a  century  after  A.  R.,  Dr.  Gale  thus 
writes :  "  We  cannot  believe  that  it  is  so  doubtful  in  sacred 
Scripture  as  many  pretend,  whether  dipping  only  be  bap- 
tism." (p.  93.) 


36  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"  To  baptize,  i.  e.  clip  'em  by  affusion  or  sprinkling." 

This  phraseology  is  used  by  Gale  to  show  an  absurd  use 
of  terms.  He  says,  "  It  is  absurd  to  speak  of  baptizing  by 
sprinkling,  because  baptizing  is  dipping." 

"  Tlie  word  baptize  necessarily  includes  in  its  signification 
diji'ping,  and  that  Christ  by  commanding  to  baptize  has  com- 
manded to  dip  onlgJ'  (p.  94.) 

"  The  primary  meaning  is  simply  to  dip."  (p.  95.) 

"•I  don't  remember  one  passage  where  all  other  senses 
are  not  excluded  besides  dipping."  (p.  96,) 

"  Though  the  genius  of  our  language  may  oblige  ns 
sometimes  to  render  /3a-riV  to  wet,  or  wash,  or  dye,  &c., 
it  is  most  absurd  to  infer  that  it,,  therefore,  signifies  any- 
thing else  besides  or  difl'erent  from  to  dip/''  (p,  186.) 

Whatever  of  bluntness  or  of  blunder  there  may  be  in 
this  language,  it  is  largely  redeemed  by  its  heartiness  of 
faith. 

"  Christ,  by  commanding  to  baptize,  has  commanded  to 
dip  only,"  All  other  senses  are  excluded.  To  doubt 
whether  the  Scriptures  so  teach  is  to  be  guilty  of  false 
pretence.  To  conclude  that  a  word -which  we  are  obliged 
to  translate  tvetj  wash,  dye,  &c.,  can  mean  anything  else 
than  dip,  is  most  absurd  (!). 

Such  language  shows,  unmistakably,  that  it  was  by  faith 
that  Dr.  Gale  proclaimed  that  "  only"  meaning,  while 
deeply  enveloped  in  clouds  and  darkness.  With  manful 
courage  he  holds  on  to  dip  while  sorely  (it  may  be  "  ab- 
surdly") struggling  with  '•'■wet,  and  wash,  and  dye,  ^c." 

As  coming  events  east  their  shadows  before,  we  may, 
herein,  also  find  a  foreshadowing  of  unity  entangled  amid 
diversity,  to  be  a  future  and  fruitful  source  of  perplexity 
to  our  Baptist  friends.. 

Whether  "  wet,  wash,  dye,,  &c,,"  are  meanings  of  this 
word,  I  do  not  now  inquire;  but  whether  or  not,  the  ques- 
tion is  equally  pertinent — What  must  be  the  ideas  of 
language  entertained  by  that  man  who  feels  "  obliged"  to 
translate  a  word  by  these  terms,  while  he  believes  that  it 
has  no  such  meanmg  at  all  ? 


ABRAHAM    BOOTH.  37 

Abraham  Booth.    London,  1711. 

"The  primary  sense  of  tlie  term  is  to  dip.'^ 

The  "venerable  Bootli"  appears  as  a  writer  somewhat 
more  than  tliree-fourths  of  a  century  after  the  learned  Dr. 
Gale. 

lie  thus  writes :  "  When  our  Lord  says,  •*  go,  baptize,'  he 
speaks  the  language  of  legislation;  he  delivers  Divine 
law.  Does  Jehovah  make  use  of  a  term  which  properly 
eignilies  dipping?  He  means  as  he  speaks,  and  requires 
immersion.  That  dipping,  pouring,  and  sprinkling  denote 
three  different  acts,  we  have  many  examples  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Moses."  (pp.  81,  82.) 

"  While  Pcedobaptists  maintain  that  our  great  Lawgiver 
intended  anything  less  than  dipping,^'  (p.  95.) 

"I  do  not,  indeed,  recollect  so  much  as  one  learned 
writer,  in  the  whole  course  of  my  reading,  who  denies 
that  the  primary  sense  of  the  term  is  to  dip."  (p.  125.) 

Mr.  Booth  is  conlident  and  pi'ccise  in  these  utterances, 
and  generally  harmonious  with  himself  and  his  predeces- 
sors. The  exception  to  this  harmony  is  found  in  the 
statement,  that  when  "  Jehovah  uses  a  term  that  signifies 
dippbig'^  (and  ''He  means  as  He  speaks," yet)  " He  requires 
immersion.^'' 

Now,  this  new  word  introduces  a  note  of  discord.  Mr. 
Booth  has  not  proved  that  "  dipping  is  immersion,  and 
immersion  is  dipping."  The  proposition  is  not  self-evi- 
dentiy  true.  On  the  contrary  it  is  most  evidently  untrue. 
These  terms  are  not  only  devoid  of  identity,  but  they  do 
not  belong  to  the  same  class  of  words.  This,  however,  is 
not  the  time  to  enter  into  a  full  examination  of  the  points 
of  difference.  I  only,  therefore,  remark  that  "  dipping"  is 
characterized,  essentially,  by  limitations  in  all  directions, 
while  "  immersion"  is  as  essentially  destitute  of  them. 
The  position  of  Booth,  then,  is  that  when  Jehovah  com- 
mands a  result  full  of  limitations,  he  requires  a  result 
destitute  of  all  limitations !     This  jar,  by  reason  of  the 


38  CLASSIC  baptism: 

introduction  of  "  immersion,"  added  to  "  wet,  wash,  dye, 
&c.,"  induces  the  feeling  that  the  "one  only  meaning" 
holds  its  position  by  but  a  precarious  tenure.  However, 
we  must  content  ourselves,  for  the  present,  by  simply  at- 
taching to  this  notable  passage  an  IST.B. 

"F.  A.  Cox.     London,  1824." 
"  The  idea  of  dipping  is  in  every  instance." 

After  the  lapse  of  a  third  of  a  century  we  meet  with 
Dr.  Cox. 

This  writer,  in  common  with  his  predecessors,  believed 
that  /5arTw  and  ^a-Kxi^<o  not  only  had  some  elements  in  com- 
mon, but  that  they  were  most  absolutely  equivalents; 
indeed,  that  the  greatest  difference  between  them  was  that 
the  one  word  was  spelled  with  two,  and  the  other  with 
three  syllables.  He  interchanges  them  at  will,  and  quotes, 
indiiferently,  passages  where  the  one  word  or  the  other  is 
found  as  equally  to  the  purpose. 

Dr.  Cox  informs  us,  that  "  the  idea  of  dipping  is  in  every 
instance  conveyed;  and  no  less  so  by  all  the  classical  cur- 
rent uses  of  the  terms  {iSdTzrw  and  ^ar.ri%w)  in  question." 
(p.  46.) 

Having  quoted  a  number  of  passages  in  which  dip  is 
given  as  the  translation,  he  adds :  "  ]!!Tumberless  other 
passages  of  the  same  kind  might  easily  be  introduced, 
were  it  at  all  needful ;  let  these,  however,  suffice  as  speci- 
mens of  the  undoubted  use  and  current  acceptation  of  the 
contested  terms." 

This  utter  confusion  of  these  words,  so  long  persisted  in 
by  Baptist  writers,  notwithstanding  all  the  evidence  to  the 
contrary,  is  now,  I  believe,  universally  abandoned  so  far  as 
relates  to  dyemg.  The  acknowledgment  of  this  error,  so 
long  and  so  earnestly  maintained,  might  lead,  one  would 
suppose,  to  some  reserve  in  maintaining  that  these  diverse 
words  are  in  all  other  respects  identical.  But  this  still 
remains  as  an  acquisition  of  truth  to  be  attained  in  the 
future.     Let  us  hope,  not  in  the  far  distant  future. 


cox — CARSON.  "89 

It  is  very  evident  that  Dr.  Cox  gives  his  clear  testimony 
to  the  undoubted  use,  "  in  every  instance,"  scriptural  and 
classical,  of  ^dnzu,  and  iSaTzziZoj,  as  conveying  the  meaning, 
to  dip. 

IIow  much  this  conclusion  may  have  been  aflectcd  by 
the  confounding  of  these  vi^ords  with  each  other,  and  by 
the  transference  of  the  meaning  of  iSdnTio  to  /Jan-rt'Cw,  I  do 
not  in  on  ire.  To  point  the  finger  toward  so  weak  a  point 
is  sufficiently  suggestive,  and  will  prevent  any  thoughtful 
person  from  embracing  conclusions  which  are  founded 
on  it. 


Alexander  Carson,  LL.D.,  Baptist  Board  of  Publication. 
Philadelphia.     1853. 

"My  position  is  that  it  always  signifies  to  dip ;  never  expressing  any- 
thing but  mode."     "  To  dip  oj-  immerse."     "  It  never  means  to  dye." 

Dr.  Carson  thus  quotes  from  Dr.  Gale :  "  I  think  it  is 
plain  from  the  instances  already  mentioned,  that  they 
{^d-Tu)  and  (ianri^u})  are  exactly  the  same  as  to  significa- 
tion;" and  then  expresses  his  own  opinion  thus:  "As  far 
as  respects  an  increase  or  diminution  of  the  action  of  the 
verb,  I  perfectly  agree  with  the  writer.  That  the  one  is 
more  or  less  than  the  other,  as  to  mode  or  frequency,  is  a 
perfectly  groundless  conceit.  BdKzu)  has  two  meanings, 
the  primary  to  dip,  the  secondary  to  dye :  /SarrTtCw,  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Greek  language,  has  but  one.  It  not 
only  signifies  to  dip  or  immerse,  but  it  never  has  any  other 
meaning."  (p.  19.)  "If  we  dip  an  object  in  any  way,  we 
cause  it  to  dip  or  sink."  (p.  20.)  "  The  mode  essentially 
denoted  by  it."  "  Baptism  means  to  lay  under  water." 
"  This  was  a  large  object  that  was  not  supposed  to  be 
taken  up  and  dipped,  but  to  be  caused  to  dip,  as  it  were, 
by  sinking."  (p.  21.)  "It  is  strictly  univocal."  (p.  23.) 
"  The  proof  is  equally  strong  with  reference  to  pa-xi%w. 
My  position  is  that  it  always  signifies  to  dip;  never  ex- 
pressing anything  but  mode."  (p.  65.) 

Dr.  Carson's  writings  mark  an  era  among  Baptist  authors 


40  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

as  to  the  accepted  meaning  of  (ia-riZo.  They  had, heretofore, 
refused  to  acknowledge  any  difference  whatever  between 
this  word  and  ^dTtru);  but  from  the  time  of  Dr.  Carson's  enun- 
ciation, that  the  one  word  presided  over  the  mysteries  of 
dyeing,  while  the  other  was  excluded  from  all  participation 
in  them,  the  doctrine  was  promptly  and  universally  ac- 
cepted. Dr.  Carson  does  not  attempt  to  show  why  the 
work  of  dyeing  fell  to  the  lot  of  one  word  rather  than 
another ;  on  the  contrary,  he  would  have  us  believe  that 
the  distinction  was  wholly  without  reason;  because  "it  is 
a  perfectly  groundless  conceit  to  suppose  that  the  one  is 
more  or  less  than  the  other." 

Such  ratiocination  makes  another  severe  demand  on 
our  faith.  It  was  hard  to  believe  that  two  words,  native 
born,  existed  in  the  same  language  without  any  difi'erence, 
"  either  more  or  less;"  but  this  we  were  asked  to  believe. 
"We  are  now  asked  to  believe,  that  of  two  such  words  one 
secures  a  secondary  meaning  while  the  other  utterly  fails, 
without  reason  assigned  or  assignable,  seeing  that  the  two 
are  identical  in  "mode,"  and  "force,"  and  "frequency," 
&c.,  &c. 

IS'ow,  we  do  not  say  that  both  or  either  of  these  state- 
ments present  an  impossibility;  but  there  is  so  much  of 
iucredibilit}^  about  them  that,  in  the  absence  of  reason, 
there  should  be  the  most  conclusive  evidence  of  fact. 

There  has  been,  absolutely,  no  evidence  to  prove  that 
^dT.rio  and  ^ar.TiXu)  "  ditfcr  neither  more  nor  less"  in*  their 
primary  meaning;  and  consequently  there  has  been  no 
evidence  to  show  that  /9a-rw  has  secured  its  secondary 
meaning,  without  reason  and  in  a  purely  arbitrary  man- 
ner. We  can  accept  of  neither  of  these  positions,  and  the 
necessity  for  their  assumption  brings  down  a  double  and 
damaging  blow  against  the  Baptist  system. 

But  not  only  isthis  admission  of  Dr.  Carson  of  a  differ- 
ence as  to  secondary  meaning,  like  the  letting  out  of  water 
which  threatens  to  sweep  away  his  scheme;  but  it  is  no 
less  matter  for  sinister  foreboding  that  he  feels  the  neces- 
sity of  introducing  into  the  severely  simple  definition  of 


ALEXANDER   CARSON.        •  41 

his  predecessors  a  pregnant  "  or,"  qualifying,  also,  the 
primary  meaning.  It  is,  indeed,  most  true  that  there  is 
no  acknowledgment  of  valuable  service  rendered  by  this 
particle,  while  the  whole  book  is  made  to  rest  upon  it. 
Whatever  Dr.  C.  may  think,  others  will  not  consent  to  his 
slipping  away  from  the  "  definite,  clear,  and  precise"  defini- 
tion, "baptizing  is  dipping,  and  dipping  is  baptizing,"  into 
"dip  or  immerse,"  "or"  something  else.  If  it  be  affirmed 
that  to  dip  is  to  immerse,  and  to  immerse  is  to  dip,  w^e 
reply,  with  a  quiet  smile,  then  this  redundant  "  or  im- 
merse" AA'ill  only  be  an  incumbrance,  therefore  indulge  us 
with  its  dismissal.  But  if  "  or  immerse"  be  admitted  to 
be  anything  "more  or  less"  than  dip,  what  becomes  of  the 
postulate — '■^one  meaning  through  all  Greek  literature"? 

So  long  as  Dr.  Carson  declares  that  "jSaTzrc^u)  has  but  one 
meaning  in  the  whole  history  of  the  Greek  language,  that 
it  is  strictly  univocal,  that  mode  is  essentially  denoted  by 
it,  that  increase  or  diminution  of  action  of  the  verb  com- 
pared with  ftdTZTuj  is  a  groundless  conceit,  that  it  always 
signifies  to  dip ;"  this  is  all  clear  and  self-harmonious,  and 
mingles  with,  without  clouding,  the  earlier  pellucid  Bap- 
tist testimony.  But  when  he  goes  on  to  say:  "  It  not  only 
signifies  to  dip  or  immerse;"  "if  we  dip  an  object  in  (mij 
loay,  we  cause  it  to  dip  or  sink;"  "  caused  to  dip  as  it  were 
hy  sinking;"  "baptism  means  to  lay  under  inciter,"  &c.,  &c., 
we  are  fairly  bewildered,  and  cannot  imagine  what  Dr. 
Carson  can  be  thinking  of. 

What  conceivable  unifying  bond  subsists  between  "  dip 
and  nothing  but  dip,"  and  "  dip  in  any  way,"  "  dip  or  im- 
merse," "  dip  or  sink,"  "  dip  or  lay  under  loater"^.  So  long 
as  the  utterance  is — baptizing  is  dipping,  and  dipping  is 
baptizing,  consistency  is  maintained;  when  this  takes  the 
multiform  shape,  "  dipping,  or  immersing,  or  sinking,  or  lay- 
ing under  water — is  baptizing,"  the  one  meaning  has  van- 
ished. 


42  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


E.  Fuller,  D.D.,  Charleston,  SouTHERif  Baptist  Board  of 
Publication.    1859. 

Dip,  sink,  plunge,  ijyimerse. 

Dr.  Fuller,  in  entering  on  his  work,  makes  loud  and 
earnest  proclamation,  like  his  predecessors,  of  ilie  act  of 
baptism  and  one  definite  meaning;  which  act  and  which 
meaning  is  to  be  found  nowhere  save  in  such  verbal 
iteration. 

He  says  :  "  In  all  translations  of  classical  works  /9a-rcTw 
is  rendered  dip,  immerse.  In  short,  the  translators  of  our 
Bibles  have  themselves  exposed  the  pretext,  that  there  is 
any  difficulty  as  to  the  word.  In  the  case  of  ISTaaman,  the 
Septuagint  uses  /Sa-nCw,  and  the  translation  renders  it  dip." 
(pp.  10,  11.) 

"  In  Greek,  the  addition  of  zo  rather  enforces  than 
diminishes  the  primitive  word.  And  just  so  /5a-Tw,  to  dip; 
fiaKTi^u),  to  make  one  dip,  that  is,  to  immerse. 

"  Where  the  ordinance  is  mentioned,  ^a-;zTc!^co  is  always 
the  word;  and  never  was  there  a  word  whose  meaning 
was  more  clear  and  precise."  (pp.  12,  13.) 

"  From  these  examples  it  is  manifest  that  /Sarrttw  means 
to  immerse.  If  any  one  attempts  to  contradict  this  argu- 
ment, let  him  meet  it  fairly  and  honestly."  (p.  17.) 

Dr.  Fuller  gives  as  a  caption  to  his  book — "  the  act  of 
Baptism" — showing  that  he  set  out  to  advocate  some  def- 
inite and  exclusive  act  as  belonging  to  ritual  baptism. 
This  he  supposed,  at  the  outset,  to  be  very  clear  and 
precise,  as  is  manifest,  from  his  saying,  on  the  second 
page,  "  Jesus  says,  he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved.  To  charge  him  with  wrapping  up  his  meaning 
in  obscure  phraseology  is  impious ;  it  is  to  accuse  him  of 
the  enormous  guilt  of  the  Homan  tyrant,"  &c.  For  a  while 
it  seemed  as  though  this  definite  act  was  to  be  represented 
by  dip  (inasmuch  as  the  Doctor  approves  of  the  rendering  by 
"  our  translators"  from  the  Septuagint !) ;  but,  like  others 
of  his  friends,  he  finds  it  for  some  reason  convenient  to 
say  one  thing  and  do  another.    He  gives  fourteen  classical 


FULLEK — RIPLEY.  43 

quotations  to  establish  the  meaning  of  (iar.riZco,  announcing 
that  it  is  manifest  that  it  means,  not  dip,  but  immerse. 
But  what  is  strangest  of  all  is,  that  this  manifest  meaning 
(in  which  there  is  no  definite  act  at  all),  he  never  gives  as 
the  translation  of  any  one  of  his  fourteen  quotations,  but 
introduces  dip,  sink,  and  plunge.  Are  these  four  terms 
the  same  in  "  form  and  force,"  "  neither  more  nor  less," 
representing  each,  alike  and  equally,  the  one,  definite, 
modal  act  of  baptism  ?  If  not,  why  put  shame  on  an  in- 
quiry, which  purports  to  make  proof  of  such  act  by  the  use 
of  such  contrariant  terms  ? 

If  we  turn  from  this  confusion  to  seek  "the  act  of  bap- 
tism" in  that  meaning  indicated  by  Dr.  Fuller's  philology 
— ^baptize,  to  make  dip — our  search  is  all  fruitless.  This 
discovery  having  been  made  by  the  lielp  of  zo,  it  would 
seem  to  be  regarded  as  too  precious  to  be  used,  for  never 
again  does  it  appear  throughout  the  book. 

ISTotwithstanding,  therefore,  "  there  never  was  a  word 
the  meaning  of  which  was  more  clear  and  precise,"  Dr. 
Fuller  seems  to  be  at  a  loss  which  to  choose  amid  dip, 
and  make  to  dip,  and  sink,  and  plunge,  and  immerse,  in 
order  to  mark  "  the  act  of  baptism,"  which,  as  appears 
from  the  title  of  his  book,  he  was  anxious  to  accomplish. 

Prof.  Eipley,  Newton  Theological  Institute.     1833. 
To  dip,  its  radical,  proper  meaning. 

Professor  Ripley  pays  deferential  regard,  in  definitioUj 
to  the  traditional  meaning,  to  dip. 

He  translates;  "the  sword  was  so  dipped  as  even  to  be- 
come heated,"  remarking,  "  Should  the  reader  stop  to  think 
dipped  into  what?  How  instantaneous  and  how  irresistible 
the  reply,  into  the  blood."  The  meaning,  dipped,  is  not 
forced  or  inr.ppropriate.  (p.  19.) 

My  business,  now,  is  not  to  question  interpretations,  but 
to  let  Baptist  writers  speak  and  make  out,  if  they  can,  a 
p7ima  facie  case  for  themselves,  indicating,  as  they  pass 
along,  only  such  difficulties  as  appear  on  the  surface. 


44  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Again  lie  remarks:  "  One  of  which  sorts  was  performed 
by  the  dipping  of  the  hands  into  water,  and  this  was  prop- 
erly expressed  by  the  peculiar  term  [{idizziZio)  which  he  has 
employed.  If  so,  this  word  is  here  used  in  its  radical, 
proper  meaning."  (p.  42.) 

This  "  radical  and  proper  meaning"  is  announced  only 
to  be  rejected  on  tlie  succeeding  page. 

It  would,  surely,  take  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece  to 
render  a  reason  justly  defensive  of  such  procedure. 

Others,  less  wise,  will  be  tempted  to  think  that  theory 
suggests  one  course,  while  the  exigencies  of  truth  con- 
strain to  the  other. 


J.  L.  Dago,  Church  Order,  Southern  Baptist  Publication, 
Charleston.     1859.     ' 

"  To  immerse." 

Professor  Dagg  quotes  some  fifty  passages  containing 
the  word  fidTrrw,  each  of  which  he  ti-anslates  by  dip.  He 
also  quotes  a  still  larger  number  containing  the  word 
^onzri^u),  each  of  which  he  translates  by  immerse. 

Unless  the  Professor  is  charged  with  acting  very  un- 
reasonably, while  he  acts  very  systematically,  we  must 
conclude  that  these  persistent  differences  in  translation 
are  intended  to  denote  real  difi^erences  in  the  w^ords  trans- 
lated. And  this  conclusion  is  well  founded;  although  the 
difference  appears  to  be  imperfectly  apprehended  and  in- 
adequately stated. 

"We  are  told,  "  the  termination  i'io)  is,  with  greater  prob- 
ability, supposed  by  others  to  add  to  the  primitive  word 
the  signification  of  to  cause  or  to  make,  like  the  termination 
ize  in  legalize.,  to  make  legal.  According  to  this  hypothesis, 
if  /Sarrw  signifies  to  immerse,  ^arzTi^u)  signifies  to  cause  to  be 
immersed.  This  makes  the  two  w^ords  nearly  or  quite 
synonymous." 

Not  "  nearly  or  quite,"  but  absolutely,  according  to  Pro- 
fessor Dagg's  explanation  of  this  causality.  Bdxro)  causes 
its  object  "to  be  immersed,"  and  ^uktc^o),  according  to  the 


DAGG — STOVEL.  45 

explanation,  does  precisely  the  same  tiling.  The  explana- 
tion is  faulty.  It  makes  /Sarrj'Cw  causative  not  of /3a-rw  but 
of  the  immersion,  over  which  fidTtru)  is  itself  alread}^  causa- 
tive; and  so  only  repeats  that  word.  To  be  truly  causative 
of  fidnrru^,  it  must  reach  the  cause  which  puts  /3d-ra;  into 
operation  -^  that  is,  it  must  cause  some  person  to  dip. 

Of  more  value  is  the  statement — '■'■  [^dr.ruf  more  frequently 
denotes  slight  or  temporary  immersion  than  [iaz-i'^u).  Hence 
the  English  word  dip,  which  properly  denotes  slight  or 
temporary  immersion,  is  more  frequently  its  appropriate 
rendering.  In  nearly  one-half  of  the  examples  in  which 
^aT.Ti%u)  occurs  in  the  literal  sense,  it  signifies  the  immer- 
sion which  attends  drowning  and  the  sinking  of  ships." 
(p.  33.) 

The  Professor  here  fairly  touches  the  nerve  of  truth  with- 
out fully  laying  it  bare ;  yet  sufficiently  so  to  send  a  shock 
through  all  the  Baptist  system.  If  fidTrrm  signifies  "  an 
immersion  which  is  slight  and  temporary ;^'  and  if  f^a-riXu)  sig- 
nifies "an  immersion  which  is  profound  and  enduring;" 
what  becomes  of  the  dictUj  "baptizing  is  dipping,  and  dip- 
ping is  baptizing" — "  one  meaning,  dip  or  immerse" — "that 
the  one  is  more  or  less  than  the  other  is  a  groundless  con- 
ceit"? 

If  Professor  Bagg  is  right,  the  postulate  which  demands 
equality  "in  form,  and  force,  and  efiect,"  for  these  words, 
is  all  wrong.  • 

C.  Stovel.     London,  1846. 

« 
"  It  means,  caused  the  people  to  dip." 

"  BaTTu^w,  is  causal  of  jSdnrio.  The  baptizing  of  John, 
might  have  been  performed  entirely  by  other  hands  under 
John's  direction.  The  sense  of  the  original  must  be  re- 
tained in  the  causal  form  of  the  verb;  and  if  it  be  right 
to  say,  let  Lazarus  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  it 
cannot  be  wrong  to  say,  John  caused  the  people  to  dip,  or 
to  be  dipped  in  water." 

Whether  Mr.  Stovel's  philological  principles  be  right 


46  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

or  not,  he  seems  disposed  to  apply  tliem  right  honestly. 
While  Drs.  Carson,  Fuller,  and  Dagg  all  unite  in  making 
^oKxilu)  causative  of  ySdrrw,  they  all  unite,  also,  in  declining 
to  apply  the  principle.  They  still  represent  the  one  as  the 
alter  ego  of  the  other.  They  were  aware  that  if  made 
really  causative,  it  could  find  no  exemplification  in  Scrip- 
ture facts.  I  dip,  expresses  an  act  which  I  perform.  I  bap- 
tize, if  causative  of  to  dip,  would  make  the  act  expressed 
by  that  word  to  be  done  by  some  other  person.  ISTow, 
this  Mr.  Stovel  acknowledges,  very  justly,  for  good  reason- 
ing, but  very  awkwardly  for  the  history  of  ritual  baptism. 
He  should,  however,  have  gone  a  'step  farther,  and  said, 
not  only  that  John  mirjM  have  stood  by  while  he  baptized, 
to  ivit,  caused  the  people  to  dip  themselves  or  one  another, 
but  that  he  must  have  so  done.  "For  it  cannot  be  wrono; 
to  say,  John  caused  the  people  to  dip  (themselves),  or  to 
be  dipped  (by  one  another),  in  -vv^ater,"  seeing  that  it  is 
said,  "let  Lazarus  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water"! 

l^ovelties  in  this  controversy  are  rare;  but  Mr.  Stovel 
seems  disposed  to  treat  us  to  such  an  exhibition.  Whether 
it  will  tend  to  the  gratification  of  his  friends;  or  whether 
they  will  think  that  his  philology  carried  out  elucidates 
that  one,  definite,  precise,  clear,  and  only  meaning  of 

^a-ri'^w  is  doubtful. 


M.  P.  Jewett,  A.m.     Boston,  1854. 
"  To  dip,  or  imrfierse,  and  never  has  any  other  meaning." 

"  Bar^riZiu,  in  the  whole  history  of  the  Greek  language, 
has  but  one  meaning.  It  signifies  to  dip  or  immerse,  and 
never  has  any  other  meaning."  (p.  13.) 

"  In  baptism,  we  are  commanded  to  perform  the  act 
represented  by  the  word  baptize." 

In  the  first  of  these  quotations,  Prof  Jewett  repeats  the 
language  of  Dr.  Carson.  In  the  second,  he  reiterates  a 
declaration  handed  down  from  mouth  to  mouth,  without 


DIP — PLUNGE — IMMERSE.  47 

apparent  consciousness  of  its  import,  or  that  its  uttcrers 
were  under  obligation  to  conform  to  it. 

To  affirm,  in  the  critical  discussion  of  a  word  which  is 
declared  to  be  the  most  precise  of  all  words,  and  whose 
value  has  been  determined  to  a  hair,  that  it  means  dip  or 
immerse,  is  of  all  extraordinary  things  the  most  extra- 
ordinary. 

If  it  be,  indeed,  true  that  Baptizo,  in  the  whole  history 
of  the  Greek  language,  has  but  one  meaning;  and  if  it  be, 
indeed,  true  that  Jewett  and  friends  have  found  out  what 
is  that  meaning;  then,  why  not  tell  us  what  it  is?  Why 
give  us  such  Delphic  utterance  as — it  means  this;  or  if  it 
does  not  mean  this,  then  it  means  that;  but  if  it  does  not 
mean  that,  then  certaiul}^  it  does  mean  something  else! 

Will  an  attempt  be  made  to  rebut  this  condemnation 
by  the  assertion  that  dip  and  immerse  have  but  one  mean- 
ing in  the  whole  history  of  the  English  language?  Such 
a  line  of  defence  would  be  bold,  hazardous,  desperate,  but 
the  exigency  is  great;  let  it  be  tried. 

While  waiting  the  issue  of  such  effort,  we  wih  venture 
to  say  that  such  clay-iron  definition,  persisted  in  through 
long  years,  repeated  by  unnumbered  authors,  and  in  con- 
tradiction to  cherished  and  fundamental  postulates,  cannot 
proceed  either  from  defective  knowledge  or  through  over- 
sight; but  must  proceed  from  some  unrevealed  and  dire 
necessity. 

DIP— PLUNGE— IMMERSE, 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  ask  and  obtain  an  answer  to 
the  question — Are  Baptist  writers,  while  using  these  terms 
avowedly  to  express  a  meaning  which  is  "  one,  definite, 
precise,  clear,"  aware  that  these  terms  do  not  and  cannot 
express  any  such  meaning  ? 

Let  them  answer  for  themselves.  First,  hear  "the  ven- 
erable Booth." 

"  The  reader  needs  only  to  dip  into  a  Hebrew  or  Greek 
Lexicon,  into  Ainsworth's  Latin,  or  Johnson's  English 
Dictionary,  to  be  convinced  of  this.     I  have  just  dipped 


48  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

into  the  works  of  such  an  author.  ISTow  this,  far  from 
signitying  that  I  feel  my  mind,  as  it  were,  immersed  in  the 
author's  writings,  only  means,  as  Johnson  tells  us,  that  I 
have  entered  slightly  into  them."  —  Pxdobcqyiism,  vol.  i, 
pp.  115,  123. 

Surely  Booth  was  aware  that  dip  and  immerse  could 
not  express  one  and  the  same  meaning,  whatever  may  be 
the  fact  with  regard  to  others.  But  he  did  not  stand  alone. 
"VVe  have  but  to  call  to  mind  the.  language  of  Professor 
Bagg  to  see  distinctly  stated  that  primary,  literal  use  of 
dip,  in  which  this  figurative  use  of  Booth  is  grounded. 

"  Bd-TU}  more  frequently  denotes  slijhi  or  temporary  im- 
mersion." Here,  in  the  trivial  effect  which  must  follow 
upon  "a  slight  and  temporary  immersion"  in  any  physical 
element,  we  see  the  most  satisfactory  foundation  laid  for 
the  expression  of  an  extremely  limited  knowledge  of  an 
author,  by  saying,  "  I  have  merely  dipped  into  his  writ- 
ings." 

On  the  other  hand,  Bagg  says:  '•'■  ^ai:riXu}  signifies  the 
immersion  which  attends  drowning  or  the  sinking  of 
ships."  And  he  might  have  added:  "In  the  whole  liis- 
tory  of  Greek  literature"  ^dr^ruj  is  never  once  employed  to 
denote  such  immersion.  By  such  characteristics  as  attend 
on  immersion  unlimited  (unlimited  as  to  the  depth  to 
which  it  penetrates,  and  unlimited  as  to  tlic  time  of  its 
continuance),  immerse  becomes  perfectly  adapted  to  ex- 
press, as  is  done  by  Booth  in  figure,  the  extreme  opposite 
of  dip,  namely,  thorough  cngagedness  in  the  study  of  an 
author. 

Who  could  imagine  that  writers  so  conversant  with  these 
differences  would  ever  venture  to  ask  any  one,  in  a  critical 
controversy,  to  adopt,  as  the  meaning  of  a  word,  a  word 
which  they  affirm  has  but  one  meaning,  dip  or  immerse? 

But  what  do  Baptists  think  of  pil'-^^'^'jc  ?  Is  there  author- 
itative sanction  for  making  it  co-ordinate  with  dip  and 
immerse  in  expounding  fta—iZu)  ?  And  if  so,  do  they  re- 
gard all  these  terms  of  "  the  same  form  and  force"  ? 

In  regard  to  the  first  of  these  inquiries,  an  answer  is 


DIP — PLUNGE — IMMERSE.  49 

found  in  "  tlie  40th  article  of  the  Confession  of  Faith 
of  those  chnrclies  which  are  commonly,  though  folsely, 
called  Anabaptist,"  which  says:  "The  way  and  manner 
of  dispensing  of  this  ordinance  the  Scriptures  hold  out  to 
be  dipping  or  plunging."  This  testimony  is  two  centuries 
old.  It  has,  however,  received  constant  reaffirmation  dur- 
ing all  this  interval.  A  single  exemplification  of  which, 
representative  of  all,  may  be  found  in  the  following  lan- 
guage of  Dr.  Cox:  "Dipping,  plunging,  or  immersing,  is 
the  unquestionable,  settled,  and  universally  admitted  prim- 
itive signification." 

Hear,  now.  Booth,  as  to  the  fitness  of  these  three  terms 
to  express  with  ecpial  absoluteness  one  precise  meaning: 
"Dr.  Williams  uniformly  contrasts  his  chosen  vevh purifi/, 
with  the  term  i:)hmrie. ;  as  if  that  had  been  the  expression 
most  commonly  used  by  us.  But  this,  notwithstanding 
his  boasted  candor,  is  very  unfair.  For  he  knows  that  it 
is  not  the  verb  to  plunge,  but  the  word  immerse,  that  is 
usually  adopted  by  us  on  this  occasion.  lie,  also,  knows 
that  the  term  plunge  does  not  signify,  merely,  to  immerse; 
but  suddenly  and  violently  to  immerse;  for  which  reason 
we  do  not  think  it  the  most  eligible  word  by  v/hicli  to 
render  the  enacting  term  baptize.  On  the  verb  active,  to 
plunge.  Dr.  Johnson  says:  'This  word,  to  what  action 
soever  it  be  applied,  commonly  expresses  either  violence 
or  suddenness  in  the  agent,  or  distress  in  the  patient.' 
jSTow,  it  should  seern  that,  for  this  very  reason,  Dr.  Wil- 
liams made  choice  of  the  term  plunge,  rather  than  im- 
merse or  dip,  in  order  to  give  a  ridiculous  air  to  our 
sentiments  and  practice." — Animad.  on  Ed.  Williams.  Lon- 
don, 1702,  p.  316. 

Most  strange  complaint  on  the  part  of  this  venerable 
man!  Dr.  Williams  "uniformh^"  employs  plunge  to  ex- 
press the  meaning.  And  is  this  to  be  urged  as  a  ground 
of  complaint  by  those  who  postulate  uniformity  of  mean- 
ing "  through  the  whole  history  of  Greek  literature"?  It 
signifies,  "  suddenl}^  and  violently  to  immerse;"  therefore 
"we  do  not  thiidv  it  the  most  eligible  word  by  which  to 

4 


50  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

render  baptize."  But  who  selected  this  word  ?  Was  it  not 
the  Baptist  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  which  said,  "pUmging 
is  the  way  and  manner  of  dispensing  this  ordinance  taught 
in  the  Scriptures"?  Was  it  not  Dr.  Cox,  representing  a 
host  of  others,  who  said,  "pkmging  is  the  unquestionable, 
settled,  and  universally  admitted  primitive  signification"? 
And  now  shall  it  be  said,  to  use  this  word  as  the  exponent 
of  baptize  is  "  very  unfair,"  and  is  done  "  in  order  to  give 
a  ridiculous  air  to  our  sentiments  and  practice"!  Surely 
the  charge  of  unfairness,  and  of  purpose  to  ridicule,  rests 
not  on  r>r,  Williams;  but  on  those  who  for  generations 
have  insisted  that  plunge  was  the  meaning  of  that  word 
which  is  declared  to  be  of  unresolvable  simplicity,  and 
jwithout  the  shadow  of  a  change  through  a  thousand  years. 

If  harsh  complaint  is  to  be  preferred  because  an  "oppon- 
ent made  choice"  of  an  alternative  meaning,  why  is  such 
alternative  meaning  held  forth,  page  after  page,  by  Booth 
himself,  as  well  as  by  others?  Why  say  dip,  or  immerse,  or 
plunge,  or — ,  if  an  opponent  to  whom  such  language  is  ad- 
dressed is  "  very  unfliir"  to  notice  it  ?  Would  that  Baptist 
writers,  instead  of  employing  defining  terms  "most  com- 
monly," or  speaking  of  such  as  are  "  usually  adopted,"  and 
finding  fault  with  a  "uniform"  use  for  a  declared  univocal 
word,  might  be  found  aiming  at  consistency  by  settling 
down  on  some  word  which  they  would  venture  to  carry 
throuQ'h  all  Greek  literature.  But  while  we  have  been  told 
through  hundreds  of  j-ears  that  j3a--iZM  has  but  one  mean- 
ing; that  that  meaning  is  clear  and  precise;  that  difficulty 
in  translating  is  pretence:  still  it  remains  an  ominous  fact, 
that  no  Baptist  writer  has  over  ventured  to  give  us  the 
exponential  translating  word,  vindicating  his  judgment  by 
a  uniform  application  to  all  cases  of  use.  W^e  must  have, 
sooner  or  later,  a  long  procession  of  terms  whose  only  uni- 
formity is  their  interlinking  vinculum  "  or." 

But  while  plunge,  thus  tried,  is  found  wanting.  Booth 
thinks,  "  our  sentiment  and  practice"  would  not  be  put  to 
shame  by  the  use  of  "dip  or  immerse."  Unhappily  for 
this  conclusion,  "  dip,"  since  Booth's  day,  has  fallen  into 


DIP PLUNGE IMMERSE.  51 

110  little  disrepute  among  its  once  ardent  admirers.  And 
the  plea  might  again  be  presented — "  not  usually  adopted;" 
and  the  complaint  made  of"  unfairness,"  and  of  a  purpose 
to  make  the  subject  "ridiculous;"  if  an  opponent  should 
"  uniformly"  use  this  petite  and  undignified  word. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  distinct  remembrance  that 
plunge  was  discarded  because  of  its  essential  and  distin- 
guishing characteristics;  "  cfFccting  an  immersion  suddenhj 
and  violcntli/.'"  Is  dip  to  be  discarded  on  similar  grounds, 
to  wit,  because  of  its  essential  and  distinguishing  charac- 
teristics, which  are,  as  Dagg  informs  us,  ^'  superficial  and 
iemporarif  immersion?"  It  would  seem  to  be  even  so. 
And,  thus,  while  Booth  repudiated  plunge,  because  it 
made  both  "  our  sentiments  and  practice  ridiculous," 
while  his  successors  have  discovered  that  dip  must  be 
thrown  into  the  background,  because  uniformly  applied 
to  "  the  sentiment"  it  would  make  classic  Greek  "  ridicu- 
lous;" still  it  must  be  kept  at  hand  for  "practice,"  as 
otherwise  Baptist  baptism  cannot  be  administered.  Thus 
we  have  a  word  which,  e  eonfesso,  cannot  be  applied  to  the 
usage  of  fda-ri'^u)^  made  the  sole,  sovereign  arbiter  in  ad- 
ministrative baptism. 

I  say  that  this  hopeless  break  down  of  dip  is  a  matter ^ 
of  confession.    Without  multiplying  testimony,  one  or  two 
instances  may  suffice  as  representatives  of  many. 

Prof.  Dagg  gives  as  the  uniform  translation  of  fid-Toj,  to 
dip.  He  does  not  give  this  word  as  the  translation  of 
t3a-TiZ<o  in  a  single  instance.  Why  is  this  ?  It  was  not  of 
accident;  for  he  tells  us  that  it  was  of  design.  It  was  not 
because  he  regarded  the  different  words  employed  as  of 
the  same  value;  for  he  expressly  tells  us  that  they  were  ot 
widely  different  value.  It  was  not  because  it  was  a  matter 
of  indifierence  to  the  83'stem  which  he  advocates;  for  the 
Baptist  system  lives  or  dies  as  dip  does  or  does  not  rep- 
resent [ia-riZoj.  Why,  then,  such  translation?  The  only 
answer  that  can  be  'given  is — Prof.  Dagg  thus  confesses 
that  "  the  sentiment"  that  dip  expounds  [^a-riZiu^  must,  in 
the  face  of  Greek  usage,  be  utterly  abandoned;  while  in 


52  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

the  face  of  Baptist  "  practice"  claimed  to  be  founded  on 
^axziZu),  it  must,  imperatively,  be  retained. 

Hear,  also,  Dr.  Fuller.  Dr.  Carson  had  said  of  this 
word,  "It  is  strictly  uni vocal.  My  position  is,  that  it  al- 
ways signifies  to  dip."  And  in  a  sea-coast  baptism,  by  the 
rising"  tide,  he  declared  with  unflinching  courage,,  that  the 
word  in  such  a  case  had  the  meaning  to  dip  just  as  much 
as  in  any  other.  But  Dr,  Fuller,  on  the  same  passage, 
with  fainter  heart,  remarks :  "  A  fourth  passage  is  pro- 
duced to  show  that  par.ri^oi  docs  not  always  denote  the 
act  of  plunging  (or  dipping).  My  position  is  that  ^a-ri^ut 
means  to  immerse."  (p,  29.)  Thus  these  doctors  flatly  an- 
tagonize each  other.  The  one  atiirming,  "  My  position  is 
that  /SaTTTttfo  always  signifies  to  dip,"  and  manfully  protect- 
ing his  jprotege  under  difficulties;  while  the  other,  alarmed 
at  the  inrolling  billows,  exclaims,  "  My  position  is  that 
^ar.T'Xu}  means  to  immerse,"  and  abandons  dip  to  a  hope- 
less sea  immersion.  Thus  dip  p^erishos  amid  the  conflict 
of  its  friends. 

"  THE  ACT  OF  BAPTISM— THE  ACT  IS  IMMEESION." 

While  Dr,  Fuller  discards  "the  act  of  plunging,"  and 
with  it  the  act  of  dipping,  he  fondly  imagines  that  immerse 
will  more  than  make  up  this  double  loss,  and  furnish  to 
him  "  the  act  of  Baptism,"  which  will  never  "make  ridicu- 
lous our  sentiments  or  our  practice." 

This  welcome  and  much -needed  auxiliary  he  finds,  and 
with  exultation  announces  thus:  "It  is  as  plain  as  the  suu 
in  the  heavens  that  the  act  is  immersion." 

It  must  have  been  a  remarkably  cloudy  day,  and  the 
solar  positioji  singularly  uncertain,  when  Dr.  Fuller  made 
this  comparison.  Mathematical  calculation  can  locate  "the 
sun  in  the  heavens,"  even  amid  clouds  and  darkness;  but 
how  the  ingenuity  of  Dr.  Fuller  can  locate  act  iu  "  immer- 
sion," so  as  to  give  it  definiteness,  clearness,  precision, 
modality,  remains  to  be  seen. 

When  the  Doctor  speaks  of  "the  act  of  immersion" 


IMMERSE.  53 

bathed  in  solar  effulgence,  he  must  mean  to  designate  some 
definite  act,  if  he  meant  to  speak  anything  to  the  purpose. 
He  is  en2:a2:ed  in  rcbuttino;  an  ars^ument  addressed  ao:ainst 
the  Baptist  position — /5a-rtTw  expresses  a  definite  act — and 
in  doing  so  assails  those  definite  acts,  plunging,  dipping, 
which  are  selected  by  the  advocates  of  the  system.  Dr. 
Fuller  finds  the  argument  against  these  acts  unanswerable, 
and  he  seeks  escape  from  absolute  defeat  by  abandoning 
these  long-cherished  representatives,  and  falling  back 
upon  the  support  of  a  new  auxiliary — "  the  act  of  immer- 
sion." In  doing  this  there  is  no  avowal  of  abandonment 
of  the  principle  of  the  system,  namely,  definite  act,  but  only 
of  the  specific  acts,  plunging  and  dipping,  in  the  place  of 
which  he  offers  the  definite  act  which  is  exhibited  in  "  im- 
mersion." We  are,  therefore,  compelled  to  suppose  that 
Dr.  Fuller  wishes  to  be  understood  as  still  maintaining, 
while  in  fact  abandoning,  the  theory  that  /Sa^ntw  expresses 
a  definite  act.  Such  holding  on  and  letting  go  of  a  vital 
point  in  argument  cannot  be  allowed.  Plunging  expresses 
a  definite  act;  but  Dr.  Fuller  frankly  says  that  will  not 
answer  as  the  one  definite  act  of  all  Greek  literature. 
Dipping  expresses  a  definite  act;  but  this  too,  (we  may 
believe  with  profound  regret,)  he  declines  to  adopt.  "Im- 
mersion" no  more  expresses  a  definite  act  than  does  "point 
no  point"  express  a  sharply  defined  headland.  It  expresses 
definite  condition,  not  definite  action.  And  Dr.  Fuller, 
in  saying  "the  act  is  immersion,"  imitates  "the  Roman 
tyrant,"  whom  he  condemns  for  "  wrapping  up  his  mean- 
ing in  obscure  phraseology." 


IMMEESE— A  EEFUGE  FROM  THE  DIFFICULTIES  OF 
MODAL  ACTION. 

Dr.  Fuller  is  not  singular  among  Baptist  writers  in  seek- 
ing refuge  in  "  the  act  of  immersion"  from  the  inextricable 
difficulties  which  invest  the  definite  act  theory.  It  is  of 
primary  importance  that  we  should  understand  the  fact 
and  the  necessity  for  such  retreat,  as,  also,  the  true  nature 


54  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

of  that  place  of  refuge  to  whose  protection  they  have  made 
appeaL 

That  "  immersion"  is  a  shelter  into  which  the  friends 
of  the  definite  act  system  have  been  driven  from  other 
untenable  positions,  is  made  most  certain  by  a  glance  at 
the  history  of  this  controversy. 

A.  E.,  the  friend  of  Roger  Williams,  says  nothing  about 
"immersion."  With  him,  "Baptizing  is  Dipping,  and 
Dipping  is  Baptizing." 

The  Baptist  Confession  of  Faith,  two  centuries  old,  does 
not  speak  of  "  immersion."  It  says :  "  The  way  or  manner 
of  dispensing  this  ordinance  the  Scriptures  hold  out  to  be 
dipping  or  plunging." 

But  Dr.  Cox  began  to  awake  to  a  consciousness  that 
these  definite  acts,  unaided,  could  not  bear  the  burden 
laid  upon  them.  He,  accordingly,  without  discarding 
them,  associates  with  them  immerse.  lie  declares  that 
"dipping,  plunging  or  immersing,  is  the  uncpiestionable, 
settled,  and  universally  admitted  primitive  signification." 

Booth,  under  controversial  pressure,  is  more  outspoken, 
complaining  that  "  plunge  gives  a  ridiculous  air  to  our 
sentiment  and  practice;  immerse  is  usually  adopted  by  us." 

Dr.  Conant  says :  "  The  Bible  Society  for  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  labor,  has  adopted  as  its  fundamental  prin- 
ciple the  faithful  translation  of  every  word;  the  literal 
meaning  of  this  word,  its  true  and  only  import,  is  to  im- 
merse." And  yet,  notwithstanding  the  lifting  up  of  so  just 
and  noble  a  standard;  and  notwithstanding  all  the  breadth 
and  sharpness  of  this  language.  Dr.  Cox  does  formally 
define  that  word  whose  "true  and  onlj^^  import  is  to  im- 
merse" by  dip  and  plunge.  What  can  be  that  inexorable 
necessity  which  thus  constrains  Baptist  writers  to  write 
down  such  univocal  definitions  only  to  turn  the  stylus  and 
blot  them  out  ? 


BAPTIST  DOUBTS  AS  TO  "THE  DEFINITE  ACT'  TnEOKY. 
The  embarrassment  of  our  Baptist  friends  is  strongly 


"THE   DEFINITE   ACT."  55 

exhibited  by  the  doubt  suggested  by  some  of  their  best 
writers,  whether,  after  all,  they  have  got  hold  of  the  true 
meaning  of  pa-rC^w,  and  by  the  earnest  antagonism  with 
which  such  suggestion  has  been  repelled. 

Dr.  Gale  uses  this  language:  "Besides,  the  word  [ia-ri^oj^ 
perhaps,  does  not  SQrnecessarily  express  the  action  of  put- 
ting under  water,  as  in  general  a  thing's  being  in  that 
condition,  no  matter  how  it  comes  so,  whether  it  is  put 
into  the  water,  or  the  water  comes  over  it,  though,  indeed, 
to  put  it  into  the  water  is  the  most  natural  wa}',  and  the 
most  common,  and  is,  therefore,  usually  and  pretty  con- 
stantly, but  it  may  be  not  necessarily  implied." 

It  is  obvious  that  this  view,  suggested,  hesitatingly,  by 
Dr.  Gale,  revolutionizes  the  Baptist  view  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  fia-ri'^vj.  A  word  wliich  "  expresses  the  action  of  put- 
ting under  water,"  and  a  word  which  "expresses  a  thing's 
being  in  thai  condition"  are  separated  from  each  other  by 
essential  diflerence  of  nature.  They  belong  to  different 
classes  of  verbs.  The  one  designates  an  act,  the  other  a 
condition.  If  any  one  should  be  disposed  to  say,  that  this 
diflerence  is  of  no  moment  as  to  this  investigation,  I  would 
answer:  1.  No  such  judgment  should  be  pronounced  until 
the  distinction  has  been  thoroughly  traced  to  its  results. 
2.  That  whether  it  should  be  found  changing  results  or 
not,  it  is  a  confession  that  the  Baptist  view  of  the  character 
of  the  word  was  essentially  erroneous.  3.  Dr.  Carson  did 
not  regard  the  diflerence  as  unimportant,  but  lifts  up  an 
earnest  cry  of  "treason!"  immediately  upon  its  enuncia- 
tion. He  feels  that  the  setting  up,  thus,  of  condition 
against  act  is  to  pierce  the  heart  principle  of  the  system 
— "act,  and  nothing  but  an  act" — in  the  house  of  its 
friends.  He  thus  comes  to  the  rescue;  "Dr.  Gale  was 
induced  to  suppose  that  it  does  not  so  necessarily  express 
the  action  oi  lyutting  underwater,  as  that  the  object  is  in 
that  state.  But  this  is  evidently  inconsistent  with  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word."  (p.  20.) 

"  When  this  word  is  applied  to  an  object  lying  under 
water,  but  not  actually  dipped,  the  mode  essentially  de- 


56  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

noted  by  it  is  as  truly  expressed  as  in  any  other  instance 
of  its  occurrence."  (p.  11.) 

Dr.  Carson's  courage  is  admirable.  He  unflinchingly 
affirms  mode,  while  admitting  that  there  is  none. 

The  courage  of  Dr.  Cox  is  not  so  heroic.  lie  yields  to 
that  strong  pressure  which  drew  from  Dr.  Gale  a  qualified 
confession  of  error  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and 
with  far  less  reserve  concedes  the  untenableness  of  the 
position  that  fiar.riXu)  expresses  modal  action  or  act  at  all,  in 
contradistinction  from  condition.  This  writer  always  pro- 
ceeds on  the  assumption  that  [id-roj  and  pa-Ti^iu  are  absolute 
equivalents.  In  his  interpretation  of  Daniel  4:  33,  he  at- 
taches no  importance  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  former  and 
not  the  latter  word  which  is  used;  but  remarks:  "The 
verb  does  not  imply  the  manner  in  which  the  effect  was 
produced,  but  the  effect  itself;  not  the  mode  by  which  the 
body  of  the  king  was  wetted,  but  its  condition." 

This  exposition  is  enforced  by  an  appeal  to  other  words, 
e.g.,  to  hurt,  to  burn,  to  drown,  none  of  which  expresses  modal 
action,  but  condition  only.  He  then  continues :  '■'■The  state 
of  the  body  is  intended  as  having  been  drenched  with  dew; 
signifying  the  condition  of  having  been  drenched;  as  being 
burnt  with  lightning,  or  in  a  conflagration,  would  mean 
the  state  of  being  burnt,  which  resulted  from  the  accident 
or  visitation  of  fire." 

Such  views,  casting  utterly  away  the  "perhaps"  of  Dr. 
Gale,  appeared  to  Dr.  Carson  so  grievous,  that  he  deter- 
mined "to  settle  the  question  though  it  should  occupy  some 
pages."  (p.  36.)  He  will  not  tolerate  any  departure  from 
modality — "If  all  the  water  in  the  ocean  had  fallen  on  him  it 
would  not  have  been  a  literal  immersion.  The  mode  Avould 
still  be  wanting."  On  this  passage  in  Daniel,  Dr.  Gale  hav- 
ing remarked,  "  Hence  it  appears  very  clear,  that  both  Dan- 
iel and  his  translators  designed  to  express  the  very  great 
dew  Nebuchadnezzar  should  be  exposed  to,"  Dr.  Carson 
pronounces  what  is  so  "very  clear"  to  Dr.  G.  to  be,  in  fact, 
"very  absurd;"  thus,  "Dr.  Gale  absurdly  supposes  /Sdrz-to 
means  to  cover  with  water  without  reference  to  mode,  and 


"THE    DEFINITE    ACT."  57 

at  the  same  time  metaphorically  alludes  to  clipping."  Let 
all  who  revere  the  name  of  Carson  take  notice,  that  to 
make  a  word  which  expresses  condition,  also  to  express 
action,  is  to  act  '•'•ahsurdly."  His  opposition  to  Cox  is  no 
less  uncompromising.  To  his  remark — "a  body  exposed 
to  Eastern  dews  would  be  as  wet  as  (/"plmiged  into  water," 
he  replies :  "  This  leaves  the  mode  unaccounted  for.  With- 
out doubt  the  verb  here  expresses  mode  as  well  as  any- 
where else.  To  suppose  the  contrary  gives  up  the  point 
at  issue,  as  far  as  mode  is  concerned."  Again  let  it  be 
noted  jthat,  Carson  being  judge,  to  abandon  the  idea  of 
modal  act  in  ^aK-iZ,w,  is  to  abandon  the  Baptist  system, 
which  is  founded  in  modality. 

Farther,  in  reply  to  the  argument  of  Cox  from  the  word 
hurt  he  says:  "ISTothing  of  manner  is  here  expressed,  and 
for  an  obvious  reason;  nothing  of  manner  is  expressed  in 
the  verb.  But  will  Dr.  Cox  grant  that  this  is  the  case  with 
the  verb  /9a-rw  f  If  he  does,  about  what  is  he  contending? 
BaTTTw  not  only  necessarily  imjolies  mode,  but  literally  ex- 
presses nothing  but  mode.  Mode  is  as  much  expressed 
here  as  it  is  in  the  commission  of  our  Lord  to  his  apostles." 

Dr.  Carson  clearly  and  boldly  hazards  his  system  on  the 
merits  of  modalism  in  action,  rebuking  the  fainthearted- 
ness and  disloyalty  of  his  associates. 

With  what  consistency  the  Doctor  binds  /Sa^rrw  down,  with 
iron  clamps,  to  modalism  in  Daniel,  and  yet  refuses,  on 
other  occasions,  to  allow  it  to  be  restrained  by  so  much  as 
a  gossamer  thread,  others  may  determine;  I  exhibit  the 
facts.  Dr.  Gale  had  taken  the  ground  in  relation  to  dye- 
ing with  coloring  matter,  which  Carson  takes  respecting 
wetting  with  dew;  to  wit,  that  the  modal  act  of  dipping 
was  necessarily  involved.  This  position  is  thus  sharply 
criticized  by  his  friend:  "  AVhat  does  the  learned  writer 
mean  when  he  expresses  a  doubt  of  the  propriety  of  this 
usage  [i.  e.  fidTtno  dropping  mode)?  Does  he  mean  that 
such  an  extension  of  the  meaning  of  words  is  in  some 
degree  a  trespass  against  the  laws  of  language?  But  such 
a  usage  is  in  strict  accordance  with  the  laws  of  language; 


58  CLASSIC   BAPTISM.  • 

and  the  history  of  a  thousand  words  sanctions  the  prac- 
tice. Use  is  the  sole  arbiter  of  language;  and  whatever 
is  agreeable  to  this  authority  stands  justified  beyond  im- 
peachment. Bd-ru)  signifies  to  dije  by  sprinlding,  as  properly 
as  by  dipping,  though  originally  it  was  confined  to  the 
latter." 

Dr.  Carson  is  a  study!  When  his  friend  Gale  trembles 
at  the  consequences  of  admitting  that  /9a--w  may  signify 
io  dj/e,  still  more  that  it  may  signify  to  dye  hy  sprinkling, 
and  stoutly  affirms  that  it  has  no  such  meaning,  "but  al- 
ways implies  and  refers  only  to  its  true,  natural  significa- 
tion, io  dip;"  then,  Carson  interposes,  declaring  that  fid-ru) 
can  mean,  and  does  mean,  io  dye,  nay,  "to  dye  by  sprinkling 
as  properly  as  by  clipping;"  but  when  it  is  said  that  [id-ro) 
may  mean  to  wet  (to  wet  by  sprinkled  dew-drops),  without 
dipping,  then  fid-rio  not  only  "  necessarily  implies  mode, 
but  literally  expresses  nothing  but  mode."  How  a  word 
which  "expresses  nothing  but  mode" — to  dip — can  yet 
mean  to  dye  hy  sprinlding^  while  it  cannot  mean  (by  reason 
of  its  modalism)  to  loct  hy  sprinkling ,  is  a  mystery  left  un- 
solved. "Use  stands  justified  beyond  impeachment,"  ex- 
cept a  bill  of  indictment  be  drawn  by  Dr.  Carson  ! 

But  notwithstanding  Dr.  Carson's  positiveness,  and  his 
declared  purpose  "  to  settle  the  cpiestion  though  it  should 
occupy  some  pages,"  he  has  failed  to  carry  conviction  to 
the  minds  of  some  of  the  ardent  friends  of  the  Baptist 
system. 

Morell  abandons  Carson  and  goes  over  to  the  side  of 
Gale  and  Cox,  thus :  "  That  the  word  /Sarruw  uniform!}^  sig- 
nifies to  dip  I  will  not  venture  to  assert,  or  undertake  to 
prove.  I  believe,  however,  that  it  is  pretty  generally  ad- 
mitted, on  both  sides,  that  the  word  does  mean  to  dip; 
that  this  is  its  generic  meaning,  and  its  most  usual  mean- 
ing. But  it  appears  quite  evident  that  the  word  also  bears 
the  sense  of  covering  by  superfusion.  This  is  admitted  by 
Dr.  Cox,  who  says,  '  A  person  may  be  immersed  by  pour- 
ing; but  immersion  is  the  being  plunged  into  water,  or 
overwhelmed  by  it.     "Was  the  water  to  ascend  from  the 


"THE    DEFINITE    ACT."  59 

earth,  it  would  still  be  baptism  were  the  person  wholly 
covered  by  it.'  Thus  far  we  surrender  the  question  of  im- 
mersion, and  in  doing  so  feel  no  small  pleasure  in  finding 
ourselves  in  such  good  company  as  that  of  Dr.  Cox."  (p. 
167.) 

Will  our  Baptist  friends  turn  the  edge  of  their  ridicule 
from  others,  and  try  its  edge  upon  their  friend  Morell,  as 
he  now  affirms  that  "a  person  may  be  baptized,  immersed, 
\>y  pouring" t  Is  "dipping  by  pouring"  (so  long  made 
the  butt  of  ridicule)  any  more*  facile  of  execution  in  the 
hand  of  a  friend  than  of  an  opponent?  Or,  having  ac- 
cepted from  Carson,  what  was  so  long  rejected  when 
j)roflered  by  others,  that  /SdrTw  does  not  merely  mean  to 
dip,  but  to  dye  by  sprinlding;  will  they  accept  from  ^lorell, 
as  simple  verity,  what  was  so  ridiculously  false  when  stated 
by  opponents,  to  wit,  that  baptism  is  not  dipping,  that  im- 
mersion is  not  dipping,  and  that  baptism  by  pouring,  or 
immersion  by  pouring,  is  not  "obscure  phraseology  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  covering  up  the  absurdity  of 
dijypmg  by  2)ourmg'"i  TVhether  or  no,  we  have  a  house 
divided  against  itself;  a  general  "surrender  thus  far  of 
the  question  of  immersion." 

Morell  is  one  of  the  fairest  of  opponents,  and  we  will 
not  abuse  his  candor  by  perverting  his  surrender.  lie 
does  not  give  up  immersion,  but  he  does  give  up  dipping 
as  necessary  to  it.  But  on  sober  second  thought  he  will, 
no  doubt,  find  that,  having  "  surrendered"  so  much,  he 
has  not  surrendered  enough.  The  admission  that  ^arzri'^u) 
does  sometimes  mean,  not  to  dip,  nor  to  put  into  an  ele- 
ment, but  to  immerse  (that  is,  to  secure  intusposition  with- 
out regard  to  act),  does  necessitate  the  conclusion  that 
Pa-zLlu)  does  never  mean  a  modal  act — io  dip.  "  Dipping  by 
sprinkling,"  the  performance  of  one  modal  act  by  a  diverse 
modal  act,  is  not  more  patently  absurd  than  that  the  same 
word  should  express  a  modal  act  and  an  immodal  act;  or 
a  modal  act  and  a  result,  without  designating  any  form 
of  act  b}^  which  that  result  was  effected. 

But  let  us  pass  on  to  a  farther  development  of  Baptist 


60  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

testimony  to  the  "one,  clear,  precise,  and  definite  mean- 
ing" of  this  word. 

Dr.  Fuller  thus  testifies :  "  A  fourth  case  is  presented 
by  Poedobaptist  authors  from  Aristotle.  It  is  produced  to 
show  that  ^aTZTiZu)  does  not  always  denote  the  act  of  plung- 
ing. My  position  is  that  /SarnTw  means  to  immerse.  It 
matters  not  how  the  immersion  is  effected."  (p.  29.) 

"  Suppose  a  man  should  lie  in  the  baptistery  while  it  is 
filling.  The  pouring  of  the  water  would  not  be  immer- 
sion, yet  an  immersion  wculd  take  place,  if  he  remained 
long  enough."  (p.  31.) 

Again  we  have  the  use  of  the  word  "immersion,"  as 
expressing  a  thought  wholly  dissevered  from  the  form  of 
the  act  inducing  it,  whether  that  form  be  pouring,  or 
plunging,  or  sprinkling;  for  "  if  a  man  should  lie  in  the 
baptistery  long  enough,"  under  the  act  of  sprinkling,  "an 
immersion  would  take  place."  And  yet  it  is  the  same 
writer  who  speaks  of  "  the  act  of  baptism  being  the  act 
of  immersion,"  which  act  of  immersion  is  said  to  be  "  as 
plain  as  the  sun  in  the  heavens"  ! 

"Well,  then,  in  the  light  of  this  dictum  we  must  even 
believe  that  "  the  act  of  baptism"  is  the  act  of  immersion, 
which  act  is  that  of  plunging,  or  pouring,  or  sprinkling, 
either  of  which  will  "  baptize  the  man  who  lies  in  the 
baptistery  long  enough"  ! 

"Whether  Dr.  Fuller  has  added  to  the  clearness,  the 
simplicity,  and  the  precision  of  the  one  definite  act  of-bap- 
tism  by  his  "  plain  as  the  sun"  position  is  quite  doubtful. 

One  word  as  to  the  incongruous  use  of  immerse  and 
immersion  by  Drs.  Fuller  and  Carson.  The  latter  says, 
^oKTi^u)  has  but  one  meaning;  that  meaning  is  one  of  mode, 
and  nothing  but  mode,  which  mode  is  definitely  expressed 
by  dip — "  dip  or  immerse.^'  Now,  these  woi'ds  must  be 
used  as  the  absolute  equivalents  of  each  other,  or  shame  is 
poured  over  all  the  pages  wherein  they  appear.  But  Dr. 
Fuller  does  most  expressly  antagonize  to  dip  and  to  plunge, 
by  to  immerse.  lie  argumentatively  rejects  the  definite 
act  as  not  expressing  the  meaning  of  /?a-7£'>,  and  takes, 


"the  definite  act."  61 

instead,  to  immerse,  as  destitute  of  all  expression  of  definite 
act,  proclaiming  as  liis  position,  *' It  matters  not  how  the 
immersion  is  effected."  "Immersion  may  be  by  pouring," 
but  pouring  never  produces  clipping  or  plunging. 

That  such  use  of  these  terms  is  in  utter  contradiction, 
the  one  of  the  other,  I  need  not  say  "  is  as  plain  as  the  sun 
in  the  heavens;"  but  it  is  important  to  say  that  no  notice 
is  ever  given  by  Baptist  writers  of  such  contradictory 
usage;  Avliile  the  use,  now  in  one  sense  and  now  in  another, 
is  met  with  everywhere,  not  only  in  different  writers,  but 
in  the  pages  of  the  same  writer. 

To  these  writers — Gale,  Cox,  Morell,  Fuller,  all  in  the 
front  rank  of  Baptist  scholars — who  have  been  constrained 
by  the  stress  of  testimony  to  abandon  the  long-cherished 
definite  act  theory,  "  mode  and  nothing  but  mode,"  must 
be  added  the  certainly  not  less  eminent  name  of  Conaut. 

Dr.  Conant  presents  for  embalmment,  in  the  "  new  ver- 
sion" of  the  holy  Scriptures,  neither  the  definite  act  to  dip, 
nor  th&  modal  act  to  j^hmge,  but  the  same  word,  "to  im- 
merse," in  which  Fuller  and  friends  seek  refuge  when 
compelled  "  thus  far  to  surrender  the  question  of  immer- 
sion." The  foreign  origin  of  this  word  and  its  composite 
character  throw^s  around  it  an  indefinite  penumbral  char- 
acter, which  is  its  qualifying  merit  as  a  retreat  from  the 
long-honored,  but  no  longer  tenable,  position  of  "one 
clear,  precise,  definite  act  through  all  Greek  literature." 

Henceforth,  our  business  is  to  dissipate  this  penumbra, 
and  to  show  that  when  its  outlines  are  sharply  lighted  up, 
there  is  no  more  within  it  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  Baptist 
theory,  than  has  been  found  in  the  abandoned  dij)  and 
jyhmr/e. 

But  the  views  of  Dr.  Conant — the  latest,  the  most  elab- 
orate, as  well  as  every  way  qualified  investigator  of  this 
subject — demand  special  consideration. 


62  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"THE  MEANING  OF  BAnTizn." 
T.  J.  CoxANT,  D.D.,  American  Bible  Uniox.     New  York,  1860. 

Too  mucli  praise  cannot  be  accorded  to  Prof.  Conant 
for  the  exhaustive  labor  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  the 
collection  and  accurate  exhibition  of  all  passages  in  which 
/Sa-T-cTto  is  found.  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  acknowl- 
edge my  indebtedness  to  him  for  quite  a  number  of  pas- 
sages, after  havins;  devoted  the  leisure  intervals  of  some 
years  to  securing  such  a  collection;  as,  also,  for  the  cor- 
rection of  some  errors  of  quotation.  Indeed,  so  well  sat- 
isfied have  I  been  of  the  accuracy  of  Dr.  Conant,  and 
oftentimes  of  the  greater  accessibility  of  the  editions  re- 
ferred to  by  him,  that  I  have,  throughout,  conformed  my 
quotations  and  references  to  his,  on  a  review^;  this  inquiry 
having  been,  substantially,  completed  before  meeting  with 
his  treatise. 

Dr.  Conant  has  not  been  satisfied  with  the  mere  collec- 
tion of  materials,  but  has  made  them  the  subject  (3f  very 
elaborate  study.  lie  has  felt  that  a  large  responsibility 
was  resting  upon  him,  and  he  spared  no  pains  to  acquit 
himself  well  under  it.  And  he  has  done  so,  N'one  will 
question  the  honesty  of  his  purpose,  the  fulness  of  his 
labor,  or  the  adequacy  of  his  scholarship,  however  much 
they  may  differ  from  him  in  some  of  his  views. 

The  results  reached  generally  by  Prof.  Conant  may  be 
accepted  as  sufficiently  correct  for  all  ordinary  purposes 
of  language,  while,  with  a  special  application  to  the  Baptist 
system  and  its  sharp" demands,  their  accuracy  may  be  ques- 
tioned and  their  essential  modification  be  demanded. 

HIS   ACCORD   WITH   THE   BAPTIST   THEORY. 

The  orthodox  Baptist  view  of  the  meaning  of  ^aixrilca, 
undoubtedly,  is  that  it  expresses  a  clear,  precise,  and  def- 
inite act ;  which  act  has  been  expressed  in  a  thousand 
treatises,  and  in  every  ritual  service,  by  the  word  di]}^ 
throuirh  more  than  two  hundred  vears. 


ACCORD    WITH    THE    BAPTIST    THEORY.  63 

%  .    '■ 

Dr.  Conaiit  seems  to  adopt  the  tlieory  that  this  word  has 
but  one  meaning,  and  that  that  meaning  is  an  act,  a  def- 
inite act.     This  is  his  language  : 

"  This  word  is  rendered  into  Enghsh — the  transLation 
expresses  its  true  and  only  import."  "  The  word  fia-rt'Ctu, 
during  the  whole  existence  of  tlie  Greek  as  a  spoken 
language,  had  a  perfectly  defined  and  unvarying  import." 
"  The  constant  usage  of  Greek  writers,  and  the  only  rec- 
ognized meaning  of  the  word."  "  The  simple,  distinct, 
and  corporeal  sense  to  which  the  word  was  appropriated 
by  unvarying  usage." 

This  is  explicit.  The  language  employed  designating 
this  meaning  as  an  act,  a  definite  act,  would  seem  to  be  not 
less  so.     Take  the  following : 

"  The  Greek  word  [ia-ri'^eiv  expresses  nothing  more  than 
the  act  of  immersion."  "  This  act  is  performed  on  the 
assentins;  believer — and  this  clistinc-uishes  it  from  all  other 
acts  of  life — the  act  expressed  by  the  same  word  is  a  super- 
stitious Pharisaic  ceremony — the  act  designated  by  the 
word  in  all  these  cases  is  the  same."  "  Tlic  act  which  it 
describes  was  chosen  for  its  adaptation  to  set  forth  by 
lively  symbolism  the  ground  thought  of  Christianity." 
"  The  name  of  the  element  in  which  the  act  it  expresses  took 
place."  "  The  other  acts  with  which  it  is  compared  in  the 
New  Testament."  "The  daily  and  hourly  repetition  of 
the  act  in  common  life  which  it  described." 

Can  language  lil^e  this  be  read  with  any  other  feeling 
than  that  Dr.  Conant  casts  in  his  lot  with  those  who 
declare  that,  "  one  meaning,  a  clear,  precise,  and  definite  act 
reigns  through  all  Greek  literature?"  This  conclusion  is 
confirmed  by  more  full  and  explanatory  statement; — "with 
the  preposition  into  before  the  name  of  the  element  into 
which  an  object  is  plunged  or  immersed  expressing  fully 
the  act  of  2)assinff  from  one  element  into  another."  "  The 
verb  fia—c'Co),  mmerrjo,  has,  in  fact,  but  one  sole  acceptation. 
It  signifies  literally  and  always  to  plunge."  This  last  pas- 
sage is  a  quotation  (with  approval)  from  another  writer. 
We  are,  then,  taught  by  Dr.  Conant  that  fia-zi^ui  has  but 


64  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

*  .  .  k 

one  meaning,  that  tliat  meaning  is  an  expressed  act,  a 
definite  act  characterized  by  passing  from  one  medium 
into  another,  and  it  is  distinctively  represented  by  j^hingc- 

This  is  all  clear  and  consistent,  whether  correct  or  not. 
It  has  not  merely  the  merit  of  self-consistence,  but  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  ancient  and  severe  definition, 
"  Baptizing  is  dipping,  and  dipping  is  baptizing."  It 
accords,  also,  with  the  more  modern  expositioil  of  Dr. 
Carson,  "dip,  and  nothing  but  dip,"  maintained,  theoreti- 
cally, with  cast-iron  inflexibility;  as,  also,  with  the  general 
stream  of  Baptist  utterance. 

But  this  is  not  all  which  Dr.  Conant  says  as  to  the 
meaning  of  this  word,  and  what  he  says  more  mars  this 
beautiful  simplicity  of  definition,  and  introduces  a  note 
of  irreconcilable  discord.  Like  every  other  Baptist  wn-iter 
who  has  attempted  to  maintain  modal  action  in  the  face 
of  the  facts  of  usage.  Prof.  Conant  fails  to  be  self-con-* 
sistent  in  his  statements. 

lie  does  not  distinctly  avow  a  purpose  to  carry  a  definite 
act  through  every  case  of  usage,  and  therefore  recognize 
the  obligation,  with  Dr.  Carson,  by  some  catechrestical 
distortion  to  shape  facts  after  such  model;  but  apparently 
feels  at  liberty  to  speak,  as  circumstances  require,  in  con- 
formity with  the  modal  action  of  Carson,  or  the  state  and 
condition  of  Cox;  all  in  the  name  of  one,  clear,  definite, 
and  unchans-ino;  meanino;. 

The  evidence  of  this  is  found  in  language  like  the  fol- 
lowing: 

HIS   WANT    OF   ACCORD. 

"  The  word  ftarMUtv,  which,  by  constant  usage,  expressed 
an  entire  submersion  of  the  object."  "  A  sense  founded 
on  the  idea  of  total  submergence,  as  in  floods  of  sorrow." 
"  Among  the  several  words,  all  agreeing  in  the  essential 
idea  of  total  submergence,  by  which  ^a--i'Ur^  may  be  ex- 
pressed in  English,  the  word  immerse  has  been  selected 
for  use  in  this  revision."  "We  speak  of  a  man  as  im- 
mersed in  calamities,  &c.,  always  with  the  idea  of  totality, 


WANT    OF   ACCORD.  65 

of  being  wholly  under  the  dominion  of  these  states  or 
influences  ...  it  suggests  the  clear  image  of  the  act  on 
which  all  are  founded." 

These  statements  represent  the  meaning  of  ^aizriZu)  as 
turning  wholly  upon  a  state  or  condition,  namely,  of"  entire 
submersion,"  while  we  were  previously  told  that  this 
meaning  was  concentred  in  an  act.  These  two  views  do 
not  coincide  in  one  clear  and  precise  meaning,  but  are 
essentially  diverse  and  irreconcilable.  The  same  word  can- 
not express  both  act  and  condition,  although  act  and  con- 
dition may  be  inseparably  united  in  one  word.  But  in 
such  case,  act  or  condition  must  immediately  control  the 
word,  and  hold  the  other  in  subordination;  both  cannot 
be  equally  expressed.  To  plunge  expresses  directly  the 
nature  of  the  act  which  may  carry  its  object  into  and 
under  water;  while  to  swamp  expresses  nothing,  directly, 
of  the  nature  of  the  act  which  carries  its  object  under 
water,  but  gives  expression  to  the  condition  eficcted,  what- 
ever ma}^  have  been  the  nature  of  the  act. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  these  differences  should 
not  be  lost  sight  of  in  determining  with  critical  accuracy 
the  meaning  of  a  word,  and  above  all  in  tracing  out  the 
development  of  a  word.  It  would  be  a  forlorn  hope  to 
expect  any  just  issue  in  the  investigation  of  the  usage  of  a 
word  expressive  of  condition  by  a  person  whose  mind  was 
full  of  the  idea  that  it  was  a  word  expressive  of  some 
action.  Plunge  has  a  development  growing  out  of  its 
peculiarities  as  an  act;  swamp,  one  which  is  based  on 
condition.  "I  plunge  into  misfortune;"  "I  am  swamped 
by  misfortune;"  express  ideas  essentially  diverse.  The 
structure  of  language  is  controlled  by  such  difibronces. 
"I  plunge  into  misfortune;"  "misfortune  swamps  me;" 
are  diversities  of  phraseology  not  accidental,  but  growing 
out  of  the  essential  diversity  of  the  terms.  Plunge  ex- 
presses the  course  of  action  by  which  misfortune  is  reached. 
Swamp  says  nothing  of  this.  As  plunge  and  swamp  should 
not  be  confounded,  so,  for  like  reason,  act  and  condition 
should  never  be  confounded ;   nor  should   one  word  be 

5 


66  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

treated  as  though  it  expressed  both  act  and  condition,  or 
at  one  time  act,  and  at  another  time  condition.  This 
confusion  vitiates  Dr.  Conant's  treatise. 

Some  Baptist  writers  have  felt,  and  confessed  the  im- 
practicability of  carrying  ^ar-iZui  through  its  usage  as  ex- 
pressing an  act;  but  in  making  this  confession  they  still 
doubly  failed  of  the  truth :  1.  In  not  abandoning  the  idea 
that  [iar.riZ(jj  cvcr  cxprcsscs  a  definite  act ;  and,  2.  In  nt)t 
prosecuting  the  inquiry  into  the  meaning  of  this  word 
under  the  acknowledgment  that  its  meaning  centred  in 
condition. 

A  portion  of  these  writers  met  the  difficulty  by  allowing 
the  word  at  one  time  to  mean  act,  and  at  another  time  to 
mean  conclition,  a  mending  of  their  error  quite  inadmis- 
sible; while  others  chose  a  word,  sufliciently  vague,  to  slur 
over  the  difiiculty.  Dr.  Couant  appears  to  combine  the 
various  views  and  policies  of  those  who  have  gone  before 
him.  He  adopts  the  one  meaning,  the  act,  condition,  and 
immerse,  which  is  of  such  facile  use  now,  to  express  an  act, 
and  now,  to  express  condition. 

Dr.  Conant  endeavors  to  lay  a  basis  for  appeal  both  to 
act  and  condition,  by  making  both  prominent  in  the  mean- 
ing which  he  assigns  to  the  word.  Thus  he  says:  "  The 
ground  idea  expressed  by  the  word,  is,  to  put  into  or  under 
water  (or  other  penetrable  substance),  so  as  to  immerse  or 
submerge." 

By  this  language,  fia-ri'^u)  is  represented  as  expressing 
both  an  act  and  a  condition  resulting  from  that  act.  Ko 
objection  can  be  made  to  the  idea  of  an  act  which  results 
in  effecting  a  condition;  but  it  is  objectionable  to  make  a 
word  to  distinctively  represent  both  act  and  condition. 

It  may  be  noted  that  immerse  and  submerge,  in  this 
passage,  are  both  used  to  express,  distinctively,  condition 
and  not  act.  The  same  is  true  of  the  use  of  the  same 
words  in  the  following  passage:  "The  object  immersed  or 
submerged  is  represented  as  being  plunged,  or  as  sinking 
down  into  the  ingulfing  fluid,  or  the  immersing  element 
overflowing,  and  thus  ingulfing  the  object."    "Immersed," 


WANT    OF    ACCORD.  67" 

"submerged,"  "immersiDg,"  represent  condition;  it  is  im- 
possible to  substitute  for  them  words  expressive  of  action; 
the  act  is  performed  by  "  pkmging"  and  "  sinking,"  or 
"  ov^-flowing."  But  if  (ia-ziZ(o  does,  by  its  proper  force, 
express  the  act  which  belongs  to  plunge,  or  to  sink,  or  to 
overflow,  then,  unless  one  and  the  same  thing  can  be  an- 
other and  a  diverse  thing,  it  cannot  express  the  condition 
which  belongs  to  immerse  and  submerge,  or  '■'•mgidf^^  here 
used  as  the  equivalent  of  immerse. 

But  these  words  are  used,  very  unallowably,  to  express 
act  as  well  as  condition.  Z?a7rTtT<^,  "  w^ith  the  preposition 
into  before  the  name  of  the  element  into  which  an  object 
is  plunged  or  immersed,  expresses  fully  the  act  of  passing 
from  one  element  into  another."  Here  "immerse"  is  used 
to  express,  coequally  with  plunge,  "  the  act  of  passing  from 
one  element  into  another;"  while  before  it  was  used  to 
express  condition  resultant  from  the  act  of  plunging. 

Dr.  Conant  never  makes  such  double  and  impossible 
use  of  plange;  why  does  he  seek  to  make  such,  equally 
unallowable,  use  of  immerse? 

While  freely  acknowledging  that  "  into,"  used  as  sug- 
gested, does  indicate  "  an  act  passing  from  one  element 
into  another;"  it  is  by  no  means  admitted  that  such  use 
with  fia-ziZo}  shows  that  such  act  is  to  be  found  in  that 
word.  Words  which  of  themselves  express  no  movement 
may,  still,  be  found  with  into,  the  word  necessary  to  the 
movement  being  supplied.  .  Such  usage  is  not  infrequent; 
and  the  explanation  given  meets  with  general  acceptance. 

That  /SaTTTctw  does  not  express  any  definite  movement, 
nor  any  independent  movement  whatever,  "  causing  its 
object  to  pass  from  one  medium  into  another,"  is  conclu- 
sively shown  by  the  use  of  this  word  in  cases  where  no 
movement  of  any  kind  in  the  object  takes  place. 

The  sea-coast  is  baptized  by  the  rising  tide;  but  there 
is  no  act  exercised  upon  it  inducing  a  movement  of  the 
coast,  "causing  it  to  pass  from  one  medium  into  another." 

Such  usage  shook  the  faith  of  Gale  in  the  notion  of 
movement  as  inherent  in  this  word,  and  wholly  overthrew 


68  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 

that  of  Cox,  wliile  all  the  billows  of  the  sea  eonld  not 
move  that  of  Carson  a  hair's  breadth.  He  boldly  affirmed 
that  movement  was  as  much  expressed  by  the  word  in  such 
cases,  when  no  movement  took  place,  as  when  movement 
did  take  place ;  and  to  admit  otherwise  was  to  give  up  the 
issue.  He  chided  his  friends  sharply  for  their  defection, 
and  endeavored  to  encourage  them  and  sustain  himself  by 
an  appeal  to  some  figure  of  speech.  Dr.  Carson^  no  doubt, 
fully  convinced  himself  that  when  an  object  was  baptized 
without  being  moved,  that  still  it  was  said  to  be  moved 
because  it  was  said  to  bo  baptized;  and  baptized  "has  but 
one  meaning  through  all  Greek  literature,"  "  expressing 
an  act,  clear,  precise,  definite,"  making  its  object  "to  pass 
from  one  medium  into  another."  His  reasoning,  however, 
has  failed  to  convince,  I  will  not  say  his  opponents,  but 
his  friends;  for  no  Baptist  writer,  following  him,  has  ven- 
tured to  stand  upon  the  sea-coast  and  bid  the  inrolling 
billow  to  cease  its  movement  until  "  the  coast"  should 
come  to  it  and  be  lawfully  baptized;  '■'■ 'passing  out  of  one 
medium  into  another." 

Dr.  Carson,  however,  is  right  when  he  takes  the  ground 
that  /SaTTTtTto,  if  it  ever  expresses  an  act  of  movement  must 
always  express  such  act;  and  if  such  meaning  be  aban- 
doned in  one  case,  it  must  be  abandoned  in  all.  Morell 
cannot  say :  "  It  means,  most  usually,  to  dip,  while  it 
appears  quite  evident  that  it,  also,  means  to  cover  by 
supervision."  No  word  can  express  "  usually  to  dip,"  and 
unusually  "  to  superfusc,"  If  it  expresses  the  one,  it  never 
does  or  can  express  the  otlicr;  and  if,  in  the  usage  of  any 
word,  these  and  like  terms  meet  together,  they  must  stand 
on  the  same  basis;  namely,  that  the  word  means  one  as 
much  as  the  other,  in  fact,  means  neither.  The  fact  of 
baptism  by  supervision  is  admitted  l)y  Baptist  writers. 
Some  saying  that  baptism  ])y  supcrfusion  means  baptism 
by  dipping;  while  others  admit  the  fact,  but  decline  to 
work  it  out  to  its  conclusions,  and  hold  on  to  a  position 
which  the  admission  subverts,  namely,  "one  meaning,  a 
definite  act,  through  all  Greek  literature." 


WANT   OF   ACCORD.  69 

Dr.  Conant  is  involved  in  tins  inextricable  embarrass- 
ment when  he  attempts  to  snstain  "  one  meaning,  express- 
ing fully  the  act  o{  passing  from  one  element  into  another," 
while  he  also  says:  "The  object  is  represented  as  being 
plunged  or  as  sinking  down  into  the  ingulfing  fluid,  or  the 
immersing  element  overflows,  and  thus  ingulfs  the  object" 

If  ^uTTTi^w,  of  its  own  proper  force,  ever  plunges  or  sinks 
its  object,  then  it  never  overflows  it;  and  if  it  ever  over- 
flows it,  then  it  never  plunges  or  sinks  it;  if  it  does,  of  its 
own  proper  force,  distinctively  plunge  and  sink  and  over- 
flow its  object,  then  it  embodies  a  power  which  can  work 
philological  miracles;  but  if  plunge,  and  sink,  and  over- 
flow meet  on  equal  terms  in  expounding  the  usage  of  this 
word,  then  Dr.  Conant  errs  when  he  describes  this  word 
as  representing  an  "  act  passing  from  one  element  into 
another,"  for  such  act  cannot  be  represented  by  these 
several  and  diverse  terms. 

HIS   FORMAL   DEFINITION. 

"  The  word  Baptizein,  during  the  whole  existence  of  the 
Greek  as  a  spoken  language,  had  a  perfectly  defined  and 
mi  varying  import.  In  its  literal  use  it  meant,  as  has  been 
shown,  to  put  entirely  into  or  under  a  liquid,  or  other 
penetrable  substance,  generally  water,  so  that  the  object 
was  wholly  covered  by  the  inclosing  element.  By  analogy, 
it  expressed  the  coming  into  a  new  state  of  life  or  experience^ 
in  which  one  was,  as  it  were,  inclosed  and  swallowed  up, 
so  that,  temporarily  or  permanently,  he  belonged  wholly 
to  it." 

In  this  definition  it  is  noteworthy  that  act,  which  has, 
heretofore,  in  Baptist  writings,  reigned  with  such  suprem- 
acy, becomes,  as  to  form,  an  absolutely  vanishing  Cjuantity; 
and  in  its  undefined  obscurity  exhausts  itself  in  eflecting 
a  well-defined  condition,  which  is  placed  in  high  relief  in 
the  foreground  as  the  grand  idea.  In  this.  Dr.  Conant  has 
made  decided  advance  on  his  predecessors. 

It,  also,  claims  especial  attention  as  a  novelty  from  a 


70  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Baptist  writer,  that  a  second  very  remarkable  meaning  is 
assigned  to  this  word,  which,  as  we  have  been  so  long 
told,  possessed  a  solitary  grandeur,  in  that,  through  ages, 
it  never  swerved  from  the  idea  of  putting  into  water.  It 
is  none  the  less  remarkable,  because  it  appears,  now,  for 
the  first  time,  as  the  meaning  of  this  word,  and  is  only 
introduced  to  our  notice  to  be  withdrawn  without  again 
reappearing. 

It  may,  however,  be  made  the  occasion  of  again  remark- 
ins;  how  absolutely  act  is  discarded  as  an  element  of  value 
in  determining  the  meaning  of  /3a7r-:^t«.  "We  are  told  that 
this  secondary  meaning  comes  "by  analogy."  Well,  there 
are  but  two  elements,  act  and  condition,  whereon  the 
analogy  can  rest.  On  which  does  it  rest  ?  "  Coming  into 
a  new  state  of  life  or  experience,  so  as  to  be  inclosed  and 
swallowed  up,  and  belong  wholly  to  it,"  Where  is  the 
analogy  to  act,  definite  or  indefinite,  plunge,  dip,  or  put 
into  ?  Where  is  the  likeness  to  plunging,  or  dipping,  or 
putting,  in  "  coming  into  a  new  state"  ?  Are  we  to  make 
a  point  of  "  coming  into"  a  moral  state  with  2^^^tt^nff  inio 
water?  Well,  let  us  know  what  is  this  quo  modo,  and  let 
US  see  what  is  the  admirable  tracery  of  the  analogy.  Until 
this  is  done,  we  shall  rest  content  with  such  analogy  as 
may  be  found  between  the  condition  of  envelopment  by  a 
physical  element  and  the  condition  of  that  moral  state, 
wherein  those  who  enter  it  are  wholly  subject  to  its  con- 
trol. Others  may  fill  up  the  picture,  at  leisure,  showing 
the  analogy  between  the  act  of  putting  into  and  the  modus 
operandi  of  moral  influence  in  inducing  this  "new  state  of 
life." 

In  this  definition  by  the  use  of  "  put" — "  put  into  or 
ijYider" — Dr.  Conant  gives  a  greater  breadth  and  freedom 
to  /3aa:rt>  than  any  of  his  friends  who  have  preceded  him. 
They  have  insisted  that  it  meant  to  dip,  to  plunge,  and 
nothing  else.  Dr.  Conant  says,  it  no  more  means  to  dip, 
to  plunge,  than  does  "to  put;"  that  is,  it  means  no  such 
thing.  These,  and  a  host  of  other  words,  may  act  as 
servitors  fulfilling  the  behests  of  iSa-ri^uj,  while  they  no 


SECOND   DEFINITION.  71 

more,  in  their  individuality,  represent  the  meaning  of  that 
word  than  does  the  sweUing  frog  the  stately  ox.  BaraiXo) 
exercises  a  sovereignty  over  a  multitude  of  words  expres- 
sive of  action;  but  no  one  of  its  subjects  can,  by  any 
amount  of  pufling,  be  made  meet  to  fill  the  place  of  its 
sovereign.  Indeed,  there  is  no  light  thrown  by  this  word, 
of  itself,  upon  the  act  by  which,  in  any  given  case,  its  de- 
mand may  be  met.  You  might  as  well  attempt  to  learn 
from  it  the  name  of  the  man  in  the  moon,  as  to  seek  to 
learn  from  it  the  style  and  title  of  the  act  which  performs 
a  baptism.  If  any  one  doubts  this,  let  him  tell  me,  when 
I  inform  him  that  a  certain  Greek  was  baptized  in  the  days 
of  Plato,  what  was  the  act  by  which  the  baptism  was 
effected  ?  "VVlicn  a  truthful  answer,  gathered  from  /3a-T:tw, 
Bhall  be  returned  to  this  question,  the  respondent  may 
boldly  approach  the  sphynx  sure  of  resolving  every 
enigma. 

HIS    SECOND    DEFINITION. 

A  more  fully  developed  definition  is  furnished,  else- 
where, as  follows : 

"From  the  preceding  examples,  it  appears  that  the 
ground  idea  expressed  by  this  word  is,  to  'put  into  or  under 
water  (or  other  penetrable  substance)  so  as  entirely  to  im- 
merse or  submerge;  that  this  act  is  always  expressed  in  the 
literal  application  of  the  word,  and  is  the  basis  of  its 
metaphorical  use.  This  ground  idea  is  expressed  in  Eng- 
lish, in  the  various  connections  where  the  word  occurs,  by 
the  terms  (synonymous  in  this  ground  element),  to  immerse^ 
immcrge,  submerge,  to  dip,  io  jdurige,  to  imbatke,  to  ivJielm." 

And  on  another-page  we  have  the  meaning  more  briefly 
and  formally  stated.  "•Baptizein:  To  immerse,  immerge, 
submerge,  to  dip,  to  plunge,  to  imbathe,  to  whelm." 

A  first  thought  which  occurs,  on  reading  such  expo- 
sition,  is  this:  The  translation  of /3a7rr:Tw,  after  all,  does  not 
appear  to  be  so  very  easy.  It  has  been  said  that  the  sug- 
gestion that  there  was  any  difficulty  in  the  translation  of 
this  word  in  the  English  Bible  was  nothing  more  than  a 


72  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"pretence."  "The  meaning  of  the  word  was  clear,  def- 
inite, always  the  same,  and  one  of  the  easiest  words  to 
translate."  Now  for  the  proof  Dr.  Conant  has  spent 
years  in  the  study  of  this  word.  What  translation  does 
he  give  us  of  it?  Why,  on  Baptist  principles,  just  none 
at  all.  Our  Baptist  friends  are  bound,  by  all  their  un- 
measured reproof  of  us,  and  by  all  their  equally  unmeasured 
claims  of  most  certain  knowledge  for  themselves,  to  give 
us  an  English  word  which  shall  sharply,  squarely,  and 
"  on  all  fours"  represent  this  Greek  term,  I^ow,  what 
Baptist  writer  furnishes  us  with  such  a  word  ?  Does  Dr. 
Conant?  Does  he  profess  to  do  it?  Is  it  possible  for  him, 
on  his  own  showing,  to  do  it  ?  These  questions  must  be 
answered  in  the  negative. 

We  are  told  that  this  word  "  expresses  putting  into  or 
putting  under,  immersing  or  submerging."  Docs  Dr. 
Conant  mean  by  this  language  that  the  word  means  either 
to  put  into  or  to  put  under?  but  he  cannot  tell  which.  Or, 
that  sometimes  it  means  the  one  and  sometimes  the  other; 
not  being  fixed  in  its  meaning?  Or,  that  it  means  both; 
there  beino;  no  dilFerence  between  "  into"  and  "  under"  ? 
Or,  that  it  means,  exactly,  neither;  but  some  third  thing? 
Surely  we  are  left  quite  in  the  dark  as  to  any  definite  idea 
of  the  action  expressed  by  this  word.  "  To  put,"  gives 
no  definite  information,  for  it  has  sixty-seven  variations 
of  usage  according  to  Webster,  and  sixty-seven  more, 
perhaps,  might  be  added.  No  valuable  aid  is  found  in 
"  put  into,"  "  put  under,"  for  these  terms  are  very  far  from 
agreeing  in  one.  It  is  just  because  they  differ  that  they 
are  used.  If  the  "  one,  clear,  definite"  idea  is  not  found 
in  this  part  of  the  definition,  is  it  found  in  those  seven 
defining  terms  which  are  added? 

If  so,  is  it  equally  in  each?  This  cannot  be.  If  one 
word  can  be  found  in  English  the  absolute  equivalent  of 
/SaTTTttw,  there  can  hardly  be  found  seven !  If  there  is  one 
such  word  in  this  collection,  which  is  it?  Is  it  the  first, 
"  immerse"  ?  If  so,  then  why  the  other  six?  If  the  second, 
"immerge"  diifers  from  "immerse,"  and  this  is  the  repre- 


SECOND   DEFINITION.  73 

scntativG  word;  then,  so  far,  "immerse"  fails,  and  must  be 
rejected.  The  third  ("swimerge")  cannot  bear  scrutiny  if 
the  first  is  the  standard.  The  same  is  true  of  the  fourth, 
"to  dip;"  and  the  fifth,  "to  plange;"  and  the  sixth,  "to 
imbathe;"  and  the  seventh,  "to  whelm;"  each  of  which 
has  its  own  peculiarities  of  character  distinguishing  it 
from  "  immerse,"  and,  therefore,  rendering  it  incapable 
of  representing  the  Greek  word,  if  such  representation  is 
made  by  immerse.  The  Baptist  world  has  demanded  the 
philological  "pound  of  flesh,"  and  has  pledged  itself,  with- 
out fail,  to  dissect  it  from  the  English  language.  We  have 
nothing  to  say  against  the  rightfulness  of  the  demand;  but, 
remember,  when  weighed  over  against  ^a-riZu),  it  must  be 
nothing  more,  nothing  less. 

But  Dr.  Conant  admits  that  each  of  these  terms  differs 
from  its  fellows.  Why,  then,  use  them  ?  Why,  because 
they  agree  in  some  "common  ground  idea."  What  is  the 
nature  of  that  "  ground  idea"  ?  Is  it  an  act  or  a  condi- 
tion ?  Not  an  act,  because,  manifestly,  immerse  and  sub- 
merge, plunge  and  whelm,  have  no  such  bond  of  union. 
And  the  character  of  the  act  becomes  a  matter  of  supreme 
indifference. 

Is  the  "ground  idea"  found  in  condition — -"entirely 
covered"  ?  Then,  1.  Dr.  Conant  repudiates  Baptist  argu- 
mentation of  two  centuries,  which  has  labored  to  prove 
that  the  idea  involved  was  an  act,  absolutely  modal,  to 
change  which  was  to  subvert  the  truth.  2.  What  is  the 
English  word  which  represents  this  "  ground  idea"  with- 
out expressing  any  modal  action? 

We  have  a  description  of  the  idea  of  /3arrt'Cw,  as  Dr. 
Conant  understands  it,  in  which  description  all  special 
form  and  force  of  act  is  rejected,  and  power  to  effect  con- 
dition, only  is  demanded;  which  idea  is  not  translated  into 
any  one  word,  but  is  distributed  among  seven,  not  one  of 
which  exhibits,  simply  and  only,  this  idea. 

But  while  Dr.  Conant  is  compelled  to  abandon,  on  ex- 
amination of  his  exposition,  all  idea  of  a  form  of  act  enter- 
ing into  and  controlling  the  idea  of  ^a-rCiw^  still  he  clings 


74  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

to  the  idea,  so  long  clierished,  of  an  act,  a  movement,  a 
force,  as  belonging  to  and  controlling  tlie  usage  of  this 
word.  Thus  he  says :  "  This  ad  is  always  expressed  in 
the  literal  application  of  the  word,  and  is  the  basis  of  its 
metaphorical  use." 

It  is  an  error,  and  a  very  serious  one,  to  say  that  "  act  is 
always  expressed"  by  this  word,  in  contradistinction  from 
condition.  It  cannot  be  said,  properly,  ever  thus  to  express 
an  act."  This  is  manifest  from  the  seven  words  already 
quoted,  which  express  diversity  and  contrariety  of  action, 
but  which  are  given  as  expositors  of  the  same  word.  Of 
course-  they  cannot  be  exponential  of  that  in  which  they 
differ.  Therefore,  they  cannot  expound  the  action  in  /Sar- 
zt'Ci:).  Dip  and  plunge  do,  strictly,  express  acts,  and  their 
usage  turns,  wholly,  on  the  character  of  those  acts;  but 
this  is  in  nowise  true  of  the  word  under  consideration. 
The  acts  by  which  baptism  may  be  effected  are  almost 
endless,  both  as  to  form  and  force.  The  same  reason 
which  gives  the  seven  words,  referred  to,  as  the  meaning 
sought  for,  would  justify  the  addition  of  seven  more-  -to 
duck,  to  souse,  to  steep,  to  sink,  to  swamp,  to  ingulf,  to 
swallow  up ;  or  seven  times  sevei\,  wdiicli  could  be  readily 
furnished,  each  putting  its  object  "  into  or  under"  the 
water.  Dr.  Conant  gives,  in  his  translations,  two  score 
acts  by  which  baptism  was  elfected.  1,  To  assault;  2,  to 
let  fall;  3,  to  flow;  4,  to  weigh  downi;  5,  to  walk;  6,  to 
pierce ;  T,  to  hurl  down ;  8,  to  march ;  9,  to  rush  down ; 
10,  to  surround;  11,  to  press  down  ;  12,  to  rise  above;  13, 
to  dip ;  14,  to  submerge ;  15,  to  thrust ;  16,  to  blow ;  17,  to 
rush  down;  18,  to  strike;  19,  to  proceed;  20,  to  sink; 
21,  to  immerge;  22,  to  imbathe;  23,  to  plunge;  24,  to 
lower  down;  25,  to  immerse;  26,  to  come  on;  27,  to  over- 
turn; 28,  to  boil  up;  29,  to  flood;  30,  to  whelm;  31,  to  let 
dowm ;  32,  to  enter  in;  33,  to  pour;  34,  to  souse;  35,  to 
bring  downi ;  36,  to  depress;  37,  to  steep;  38,  to  drench; 
89,  to  play  the  dipping  match ;  40,  to  duck.  Is  each  act, 
severally  expressed  by  these  forty  words,  a  facsimile  of 
[ia~Ti^(,>  f    According  to  the  defluition,  "  put  into,  under,  its 


SECOND    DEFINITION.  75 

object,  entirely,"  it  does  so;  but  if  so,  then  it  must,  among 
words  of  action,  stand  forth  aBriarean  monster,  or  a  Pro- 
tean prodigy.  Certainly  no  act  of  forty  fold  form  "  is 
always  expressed  in  the  literal  application  of  the  word." 

Other  objections  lie  against  the  words  selected  (without 
good  reason  from  a  host  of  others),  as  the  representative 
words.    We  are  told  that 

"  BaTZTc^oj  means — To  immerse,  immerge,  submerge,  to 
dip,  to  plunge,  to  imbathe,  to  whelm." 

"We  object  to  the  employment  of  words  compounded 
with  prejDOsitions,  to  represent  words  which  have  no  such 
composition. 

As  the  Greeks  use  both  c/i-/5a-r£tw,  and  xa-a-^aTzrcl^a^,  the 
translation  of  which  would,  properly-,  be  with  a  compound 
word  (but  with  which  we  have  nothing  to  do),  why  intro- 
duce the  distinctive  peculiarity  of  these  words  into  the 
translation  of  ^ar.ri'^col  The  composite  character  of  these 
defining  words  must  be  rejected  as  inconsiderately,  I  would 
by  no  means  say  surreptitiously,  introduced. 

,  We   would,  then,   have :    merse,   merge,   dip,   plunge, 
bathe,  whelm. 

Of  these  terms,  "  merge'^  must  be  set  aside  as  having  an 
almost  exclusive,  and  somewhat  peculiar,  metaphorical  use 
in  our  language. 

"Dip"  must  be  rejected  on  its  merits.  The  statement 
of  Carson,  that  "  dip  is  the  meaning,  and  the  only  meaning, 
of  this  word  through  all  Greek  literature,"  is  met  by  the 
equally  broad  and  contradictory  statement,  that  it  never, 
through  all  Greek  literature,  has  the  meaning  to  dip. 

The  notion  that  Pa-ri^m  means  to  dip  Avas  never  derived 
from  a  study  of  the  usage  of  this  word,  but  was  borrowed 
fi'om  /3d-rw,  with  which  it  was  long  absolutely  identified, 
and  with  which  it  is  still  identified  by  Baptist  writers,  so 
far  as  the  primary  meaning  is  concerned.  For  such  iden- 
tification there  never  was  the  semblance  of  a  reason.  In 
usage,  these  words  are  as  nearly  opposites  of  each  other  as 
they  well  could  be.  I  do  not  now  enter  upon  any  justifi- 
cation of  this  position.     My  business,  now,  is  to  hear  what 


76  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Baptist  writers  have  to  say,  and  to  suggest  difficulties 
which  appear  on  the  surface  of  things.  Hereafter  I  will 
endeavor  to  make  good  the  position  that  dip^  the  primary 
meaning  of  /SdTrrw,  no  more  belongs  to  iSarM^w  than  does  dye, 
its  secondary  meaning. 

We  strike  out  dip,  then,  from  Dr.  Conant's  list  of  repre- 
sentative words,  as  having  no  right  to  be  there. 

"  Plunge,"  also,  must  be  rejected  on  its  merits.  Its  lack 
of  merit,  however,  is  quite  different,  in  important  respects, 
from  dip.  This  latter  word  has  a  defect  of  nature  which 
renders  it  essentially  unfit  to  fulfil  the  demands  of  /Ja-rtTw. 
This  is  not  the  case  with  the  former  word.  It  is  entirely 
competent  to  fulfil  the  demands  of  the  Greek  word ;  but 
it  is  not  the  more,  on  that  account,  an  exposition,  in  its 
individuality,  of  the  value  of  /9a-rttw.  It  might  as  well 
be  said  that  to  hinder  means,  to  tie  a  hundred  weight  to  a 
man's  foot.  Most  assuredly  this  would  prove  a  hindrance; 
but  though  the  demand  of  "  hinder"  may  be  thus  met, 
shall  we  say  that  to  hinder  means,  "to  tie  a  hundred  weight 
to  a  man's  foot"?  To  do  so  would  be  just  as  rational  as 
to  say  that  panriZio  means  to  plunge,  because  it  can,  under 
certain  circumstances,  meet  its  demands.  To  plunge  ex- 
presses a  distinctive  act,  with  strongly  marked  characteris- 
tics, which  has  no  expression  whatever  in  the  Greek  word. 
And  since  to  attribute  to  it  such  a  meaning  tends  to  foster 
the  erroneous  idea  that  it  belongs  to  that  class  of  verbs, 
we  exclude  plunge  from  the  seven  defining  words. 

"  To  bathe"  has  no  claim  whatever  to  be  used  to  express 
the  meaning  of  the  Greek  word,  cither  as  to  act  or  con- 
dition. And  as  it  is  employed  but  once  by  Dr.  Conant,  if 
I  remember  rightly,  and  in  its  compound  form — zm-bathe — 
he  will  not  feel  that  its  erasure  brings  much  loss  with  it. 

"  To  whelm"  does  not  express  any  specific  form  of  act 
any  more  than  does  to  cover,  and,  in  so  far,  is  calculated  to 
act  as  a  representative  word.  But  it  docs  express  the  idea 
of  the  whelming  element  coming  over  its  object,  and  in 
this  fails  to  find  any  correspondence  in  the  Greek  word. 
That  word  cordially  accepts  such  mode  of  fulfilling  its 


METAPnomCAL   USE.  77 

behests,  but  neither  enjoins  nor  expresses  it.  Its  breadth 
is  greater.  It  has  no  regard  to  form  of  action.  It  contem- 
plates, exckisively,  condition — iniusposition — and  what- 
ever act  will  accomplish  this  it  accepts  as  a  true  and  loj^al 
servitor,  one  as  truly  as  the  other,  whatever  may  be  their 
diversities.  It  refuses,  with  absolute  denial,  to  be  bound 
to  any,  whether  labelled  with  "  into,"  or  "  under,"  or 
"  over." 

Whelm,  in  certain  respects,  serves  very  admirably  as  an 
interpretative  word.  I  would,  therefore,  allow  the  first, 
(stripped  of  its  preposition,)  and  the  last  of  "the  seven" 
to  stand  as  valuable  helps,  with  proper  explanation,  to 
expound  the  Greek  word. 

METAPHORICAL  USE. 

The  metaphorical  or  secondary  use  oi  paitreZuj  claims  our 
special  attention.  It  is  all-essential  to  a  proper  under- 
standino;  of  the  word.  Some  call  this  use  figurative.  I 
do  not  like  the  term.  It  is  suggestive  to  most  persons  of 
something  unreal,  shadowy,  fanciful.  This  is  far  from 
being  the  case  in  the  present  instance.  ISTor  is  it  so  de- 
pendent on  the  literal  physical  use  as  some  would  have  us 
believe.  This  usage  is  as  frequent,  well-nigh  if  not  quite, 
in  classic  writings  as  is  the  primary.  And  while  freely 
confessing  that  the  secondary  use  does  proceed  from  and 
draw  its  meaning  from  the  primary  use,  we  do  emphati- 
cally deny  that  that  meaning  is  merely  an  allusive  one;  we 
claim  that  it  has,  and  does  directly  suggest  a  meaning  of 
its  own,  which  excludes  the  idea  of  physical  investiture. 
Dr.  Conant  traces  this  usage  to  an  act.  Thus,  again, 
showing  the  control  held  by  the  idea  that  the  word  ex- 
pressed an  act,  as  does  dip  or  plunge,  wliich  idea  is  a  con- 
stant source  of  misconception  and  improper  use  of  lan- 
guage. 

He  says :  "  This  act  is  always  expressed  in  the  literal 
application  of  the  word,  and  is  the  basis  of  its  metaphor- 
ical uses."  (p.  59.) 


7b  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

"  111  tlic  metaphorical  application  of  the  word,  both 
cases"  (plunging  and  overflowing)  "  are  recognized  as  the 
ground  of  this  usag^."  (p.  60.) 

"  The  ground  idea  is  preserved  in  the  several  metaphori- 
cal uses  of  the  word."  "  The  idea  of  a  total  submergence 
lies  at  the  basis  of  these  metaphorical  uses."  (p.  61.) 

"In  the  metaphorical  sense  it  is  often  used  absolutely, 
meaning  to  loJielm.  in  (or  idUJi)  ruin,  troubles,  &c."  (p.  61.) 

"  We  speak  of  a  man  as  immersed  in  calamities,  &c., 
always  with  the  idea  of  totality,  of  being  wholly  under  the 
dominion  of  these  states  or  influence;  it  suggests  the  clear 
image  of  the  act  on  which  they  all  are  founded."  (p.  107.) 

The  metaphorical  use  of  this  word  is  dependent  in  no- 
wise on  any  form  of  act.  It  is  no  more  dependent  on  dip- 
ping, plunging,  sinking,  as  forms  of  acts,  than  it  is  de- 
pendent on  walking,  throwing,  falling. 

Kor  does  this  usage  turn  on  the  picturing  of  an  object 
as  in  a  state  of  physical  immersion,  submersion,  or  en- 
velopment. Cases  of  such  picturing  may,  doubtless,  be 
found;  but  they  are  not  properly  arranged  under  this  head 
of  metaphorical  use ;  they  belong  to  what  is  more  properly 
designated  as  figure-picturing.  The  secondary  or  meta- 
phorical use  of  words  does  not  draw  pictures  of  primary 
use,  but  takes  some  leading  thought  pertaining  to  it,  and 
makes  an  application  of  it  as  the  case  plainly  indicates. 
Such,  at  least,  we  claim  for  fact  in  this  case.  In  every  case 
of  physical  envelopment  there  is  an  opportunity  for  the 
investing  element  to  exercise  its  influence  over  the  object 
in  the  highest  degree;  what  the  nature  of  that  influence 
will  be  depends  upon  the  element  and  the  object. 

There  is  nothing  more  obviously  natural  than  that  the 
word  which  is  expressive  of  such  envelopment  should  be 
taken,  not  merely  to  draw  physical  pictures,  but  to  repre- 
sent, directly,  that  constantly  needed  thought  of  controlling 
influence.  This,  we  say,  has  been  done  in  the  case  of  this 
word,  and  that  such  is  its  true  metaphorical  or  secondary 
U30.  Hence  a  baptism  can  be  eflected  b}'  anything,  of 
whatever  dimensions,  or  of  whatever  nature,  physical  or 


METAPHORICAL    USE.  79 

imphysical,  which  is  capable  of  exercising  a  controlling 
influence  over  its  object,  thus  bringing  it  into  a  new  con- 
dition. 

It  was  on  this  ground  that  the  Greeks  represented  a 
baptism  to  be  eftected  by  a  cuj)  of  wine,  by  pei'plexing 
questions,  and  by  a  few  drops  of  an  opiate.  Whether 
these,  or  such  like  things,  baptize  by  dipping,  or  plunging, 
or  sinking,  or  overflowing,  may  be  safely  left  to  the  deter- 
mination of  common  sense.  It  will  tax  the  powers  of  a 
very  lively  imagination  to  show,  how  an  embarrassing 
question  lets  loose  a  water-flood  into  which  the  bewildered 
respondent  is  plunged,  or  by  which  he  is  overflowed. 

But  give  what  explanation  you  will,  the  stubborn  fact, 
the  truly  important  thing,  remains;  that  the  Greeks  daily 
eflfected  baptisms  by  a  draught  of  W'ine,  b}^  a  bewildering 
question,  and  by  droppings  from  an  opiate.  Accumulate 
around  these  baptisms  metaphor,  figure,  picture,  and  what 
not,  I  make,  my  argument  wnth  finger  pointed  to  the  cup, 
the  question,  and  the  opiate  drop,  and  say,  the  old  Greeks 
baptized,  through  a  thousand  years,  by  such  things  as  these! 

Dr.  Conant  pronounces  a  just  critical  judgment  when  he 
says  of  this  class  of  baptisms,  they  exhibit  those  receiving 
them  as  "  wholly  under  the  dominion  of  these  states  or 
influences;"  but  when  he  proceeds  to  add,  "they  sug- 
gest the  clear  image  of  the  act  on  which  they  all  are 
founded,"  we  take  exception :  1.  To  the  introduction  of 
"the  image  of  the  act."  No  such  suggestion  can  be  made, 
for  the  very  good  reason  that  there  is  no  such  "the  act"  to 
be  "  imaged."  The  acts  by  which  these,  and  all  other  bap- 
tisms, are  effected  are  endlef^sly  diverse,  and,  therefore, 
cannot  have  "  the  image"  reflected  in  any  one  word.  The 
image  of  the  act  of  dipping  is  one  thing;  the  image  of  the 
act  of  plunging  is  another  thing;  the  image  of  the  act  of 
sinking  is  yet  another;  and  the  image  of  the  act  of  flow- 
ing is  still  another.  Each  of  these  words  has  a  metaphor- 
ical or  secondary  use  peculiar  to  itself  and  incapable  of 
interchange;  such  use  may,  in  each  several  case,  suggest 
"the  image  of  the  act"  appropriate  to  itself,  but  no  word 


80  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

can  suggest  at  the  same  time,  or  equally,  or  at  all,  tlie 
several  distinctive  acts  of  dipping,  plunging,  sinking,  flow- 
ing. But  while  these  modes  have  "the  image  of  an  act" 
to  suggest,  ^ar.rr,u)  has  none;  for  the  reason  that  neither  in 
primary  nor  in  secondary  use  has  it  anything  whatever,  as 
to  its  meaning,  to  do  with  the  form  of  an  act.  This  word 
demands  for  its  object  condition,  and  condition  solel}^;  it 
says  nothing,  and  it  cares  nothing  for  dipping,  plunging, 
sinking,  flowing,  pouring,  provided  only  that  it  is  com- 
petent to  fulfil  the  demanded  condition.  This  it  insists 
upon. 

If  Dr.  Conant  will  erase  "  the  image  of  the  act"  (aban- 
doning the  idea  that  /Samtw  expresses  the  form  of  an  act, 
and  accepting  the  idea  of  condition),  and  will  say  that  the 
metaphorical  or  secondary  use  indicates  and  expresses  that 
the  baptized  person  is  "  wholly  under  the  dominion  of  the 
state  or  influence"  appropriate  to  the  case;  which  •meaning 
(not  image)  is  clearly  traceable  to  the  primary  use,  wherein 
an  object  is  encompassed  by  a  physical  element,  and  thus 
wholly  subject  to  its  influence,  then,  my  objection  is  at  an 
end,  and  Baptist  argumentation,  as  to  the  character  of  this 
word,  is  abandoned  by  Dr.  Conant. 

It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  such  abandonment  of  the 
character  so  long  attributed  to  this  word,  will  necessitate 
the  abandonment  of  their  entire  system  or  not.  They 
must,  at  least,  look  over  the  field  from  a  new  stand-point, 
to  see  whether  their  conclusions  can  be  adjusted  to  the 
new  aspect  of  things. 

I  only  observe,  now,  that  this  meaning  does,  on  the  face 
of  it,  extinguish  all  idea  of^/Sarrttw  having  anything  to  do 
with  dipping;  dipping  never  brought  any  object  "  wholly 
under  the  dominion"  of  anything.  And  by  the  same  in- 
exorable necessity  must  be  abandoned  the  long-afiirmed 
unity  between  this  word  and  ^amto.  How  much  of  logically 
affiliating  error  these  changes  will  sweep  away  with  them 
farther  inquiry  will  show. 

We  conclude:  1.  This  examination  of  the  leading  points 
in  Dr.  Conant's  treatise  does  not  encourage  us  to  adopt  the 


IMMERSE    AS   A   LATIN    DERIVATIVE.  81 

Baptist  postulates :  (1.)  One  clear,  precise,  definite  mean- 
ing. (2.)  Identity  between  /9a-rw  and  (ia-ri'^w.  (3.)  y?a-r:^w 
expresses  a  definite,  modal  act.  (4.)  Aletapliorical  use  is 
a  mere  picture  of  the  primar}-  use. 

2.  It  shows  that  Dr.  Conant  is  not  in  accord  with  previ- 
ous Baptist  writers  in  his  exposition  of  the  word,  particu- 
larly with  Dr.  Carson,  who  insists,  in  the  most  absolute 
manner,  on  modal  action.  Thus  the  most  powerful  con- 
troversialist furnished  from  the  Baptist  ranks,  and  the 
latest  and  ablest  philological  expositor  of  their  views, 
cannot*  agree  as  to  the  essential  value  of  that  word  "wdiich 
has  but  one  meaning,"  and  to  understand  which  "  needs 
not  light,  but  honesty." 

3.  The  exposition,  translation,  and  current  phraseology 
lack  self-harmony. 

IMMERSE  AS  A  LATIN  DEKIVATIVE. 

The  record  taken  from  Baptist  waiters,  as  now  presented, 
shows  a  growing  disposition  to  present,  and  to  rely  upon 
immerse  as  a  shield  to  protect  their  system  against  contro- 
versial blows,  which  otherwise  could  not  be  endured. 

This  course  has  been  adopted,  not  under  a  frank  con- 
fession of  essential  error  in  past  views ;  but  for  the  sake 
of  covering  the  temporary  retreat  of  their  forces,  that  they 
may  be  preserved  for  use  under  happier  auspices.  Dip 
and  plunge  are  still  claimed  as  the  meanings  of  a  word 
"which  never  has  but  one  meaning;"  while  immerse  is 
introduced  as  another  meaning,  to  shield  them  under  con- 
fessed incompetency  to  meet  the  demands  of  actual  usage. 

Two  questions  bere  arise:  1.  Why  is  it  that,  thus,  with 
patent  inconsistency,  dip  and  plunge  are  held  on  to  so 
tenaciously?  2.  And  how  is  it  that  immerse  becomes  so 
valuable  a  covering  force  in  these  times  of  disaster? 

In  answer  to  the  first  inquiry  it  may  be  said :  The  deeply 
fixed  notion  that  /3«-r£tw  means  to  dip,  sprang  out  of  the 
error  which  regarded  this  word  and  pd-rio  as  substantially 
the  same  word,  "  the  one  in  a  long  coat  and  the  other  in 

G 


82  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

a  short  one;"  or,  as  a  translator  of  the  Baptist  Bihle  Union 
sajs,  "  the  one  in  a  modern  dress,  the  other  in  more  ancient 
attire."  This  conception  is  an  entire  mistake,  as  will, 
hereafter,  he  shown;  hut  it  has  served  to  fasten  w^hat  is 
the  undoubted  meaning  of  fidr^ru)  upon  its  associate  word, 
notwithstanding  its  protest  from  every  case  of  usage.  Un- 
prepared to  give  up  this  imaginary  relationship  between 
these  words,  they  have  held  on  to  the  meaning,  "  dip,"  in 
the  face  of  facts,  now  at  last  admitted,  which  render  such 
meaning  impossible. 

But  why  perpetuate  this  inconsistency  which  affirms 
that  a  word  has  but  one  meaning,  and  yet  confesses,  in  an 
exigency,  that  it  has  another  ?  The  onl}'  appropriate  and 
adequate  answer  seems  to  be  found  in  the  vital  connection 
of  the  act  of  dipping  with  the  Baptist  system.  The  rite 
of  baptism  is  performed,  under  this  system,  only  by  dip- 
ping, and  we  are  told  that  it  cannot  be  performed  in  any 
other  way,  because  the  word  means  specifically  "  to  dip, 
expressing  mode,  and  nothing  but  mode ;"  and  this  word 
expresses  a  divine  command,  which  can  only  be  obej'ed 
by  the  performance  of  this  specific  act.  Now,  to  admit 
that  ySaxn'Cw  never  means  to  dip  (for  to  that  must  come  the 
admission,  that  sometimes  it  does  not),  is  to  admit  that  God 
has  not  commanded  a  dipping;  and  to  admit  this,  is  to 
dissipate  that  excellent  glory  which  has  been  so  passion- 
ately claimed  for  ritual  dipping.  All  this,  human  nature 
will  be  slow  to  do. 

But  how  is  it  that  immerse  becomes  "  a  friend  indeed," 
under  these  circumstances  ?  The  explanation  is  found  in 
a  little  duplicity  (pardon  the  word  to  point  the  argument, 
I  use  it  Laiinice)  of  use.  This  facile,  duplex  use  is  due  to 
its  Latin  origin  and  composition,  together  with  an  essen- 
tially less  pointed  character  than  many  other  words. 

Without  entering  into  details,  it  seems  desirable,  now, 
to  refer  to  the  Latin  original  of  our  English  word  immerse, 
and  point  out  its  meaning  in  that  language. 


MERGO — IM-MERGO,  83 


MER&O— IM-MERGO. 


Mergo  (from  which  im-mergo  is  formed  by  composition 
with  the  preposition  in,  and  from  which  m-merse  is  de- 
rived), does  not  mean  to  dip  or  to  plunge;  nor  does  it 
express  any  definite  act ;  nor  yet  act  or  movement  unde- 
fined in  character;  but  it  expresses  condition  characterized 
by  inness  of  position,  commonly  within  a  fluid  element, 
which  condition  may  be  effected  by  any  act  comj^etent 
thereunto.     Mergo  expresses  none. 

That  this  word  does  not  signify  to  dip,  to  plunge,  is 
evident  from  the  prepositions  with  which  it  enters  into 
composition. 

Sub-mergo,  De-mergo,  E-mergo,  exhibit  a  cast  of  com- 
position which  could  not  be  intelligently  associated  with 
a  word  having  the  character  of  action  which  belongs  to 
plunge.  But  may  not  in  be  associated  with  such  form  of 
act?  Undoubtedly  it  may;  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
every  word  which  is  compounded  with  tJiis  preposition 
does  originally  or  compositely  express  movement.  As  in 
does,  of  itself,  express  simply  inness  of  position ;  so  it  does, 
also,  in  composition.  And  the  contrary  must  not  be  as- 
sumed in  any  case.  We  deny  that,  as  appearing  in  im- 
mergo,  it  expresses  of  itself  movement,  or  that  it  indicates 
that  mergo  has  such  character.  On  the  contrary,  we  say 
that  it  expresses  merely  position,  and  serves  to  express 
with  emphasis  the  idea  of  inness,  whicli  is  the  leading 
characteristic  of  the  word  v/ith  which  it  is  associated. 

Proof  of  this  position  is  found  in  the  following  facts: 
1.  Ovid  speaks  of  a  house  as  mcrsed,  and  boats  sailing 
over  it.  This  house  was  not  plunged  into  the  water,  but 
was  mersed  by  the  water  rising  up  above  it.  2.  Pliny 
speaks  of  one  river  being  mersed  into  another.  This  was 
not  by  the  act  of  plunging  into,  but  by  the  act  of  flowing. 
Will  it  be  said  that  mergo  means  to  flow  ?  The  act  of 
flowing,  by  which  the  mersion  was  eifected,  is  wholly  dis- 
tinct from  mergo,  although  no  distinct  word  is  employed 


84  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

to  express  that  action.  The  mersiou  follows  on  the  flow- 
ing. 3.  While  it  is  more  usual  to  leave  unexpressed  the 
word  by  which  the  act  effecting  the  mersion  would  be 
designated,  still  there  are  instances  in  which  the  phraseol- 
ogy, in  this  respect,  is  made  complete. 

"  Spargite  me  in  fluctus,  vastoque  immergite  ponto." 
"  Cast  me  into  the  reaves  and  immerse  me  in  the  deep  sea." 
(^.  iii,  605.) 

Here  the  act  by  which  the  mersion  is  effected  is  stated 
to  be  "  casting;"  the  mersion  follows  as  a  consequence. 
Had  "  immergite"  been  used  alone,  it  would  not  have 
meant  to  cast,  to  plunge ;  but  the  condition  would  be  ex- 
pressed, which  would,  of  necessity,  cany  with  it  some  ade- 
quate form  of  act  left  unexpressed. 

"  Ab  Jove  mersa  suo  Stygias  penetrarit  in  undas." 
'"'■  31ersed  hij  her  Jove  she  shall  go  to  the  Stijgian  ivaters." 
(Ovid  iii,  4,  20.) 

This  mersion  extends  to  the  Styx;  but  mergo  does  not 
denote  a  plunging  which  extends  from  the  bright  scenes 
of  earth  to  the  gloomy  banks  of  that  river.  This  passage 
is  provided  for  by  "  penetrarit,"  and  to  mergo  is  reserved 
the  off.ce  of  expressing  the  condition. 

This  interpretation  is  confirmed  by  the  phraseology  of 
Seneca,  where  the  word  expressing  the  movement  is 
omitted — "  Mergere  aliquem  ad  Styga." 

This  omission  does  not  confer  on  mergo  the  power  to 
express  the  idea  of  passing,  penetrating,  plunging;  but 
gives  the  mersion  position  and  character,  leaving  the  word 
of  movement  to  be  supplied. 

This  is  the  explanation  of  all  like  cases.  And  in  this 
there  is  nothing  peculiar.  The  usage  is  illnstrated  in  all 
words  of  the  same  class.  Take  for  example  the  word  bia^)/. 
"  Bury  the  dead  body."  To  fulfil  this  command,  a  pit 
is  dug,  the  body  is  lowered  down,  and  it  Js  tilled  up  again. 
Does  "bury"  mean  to  dig,  to  lower  down,  to  fill  up?  How 
if  the  body  be  carried  into  a  sepulchre  hewn  out  of  a  rock, 
and  a  stone  be  rolled  against  its  mouth;  does  it,  then,  mean 
to  carry  into,  to  roll  against  ? 


MERGO — BURY.  85 

"  All  avalanche  of  ice  and  snow  buried  the  entire  ham- 
let." Does  bury  mean  to  fall  down?  "An  avalanche  of 
ice  and  snow  fell  dotcn  and  buried  the  entire  hamlet."  Is 
not  this  only  a  more  full  statement  of  the  other,  placing 
the  movement  in  its  proper  relation  ? 

"  The  flock  was  buried  by  the  falling  snow."  Does  to 
bury  mean  to  sprinkle  with  snow-flakes?  "The  entire 
crew  was  buried  in  the  ocean."  Does  bury  mean  to  sink? 
To  merse  may  be  accomplished  by  lowering  down,  falling 
down,  carrying  in,  sinking,  sprinkling  over,  and  it  ex- 
presses all  these  forms  just  as  to  bury  does;  no  more,"  no 
less.  And  so,  when  bury  is  used  without  there  being  ex- 
pressed, by  an  additional  word,  the  act  whereby  the  burial 
is  accomplished,  such  w^ord  must  be  supplied,  the  nature 
of  it  varying  greatly  according  to  circumstances ;  but  in 
no  possible  case  can  "  bury"  be  converted  into  a  word  ex- 
pressive of  act  or  movement.  All  which  is  true  of  mergo. 
Bury  is,  also,  used  with  into,  without,  however,  in  anywise 
chano;iuo;  its  character.  "  He  buried  the  knife  into  his 
body."  "  The  cannon-ball  was  buried  into  the  ground." 
Such  phitipeology  does,  as  Dr.  Conant  says,  express  the 
passing  from  one  point  to  another,  but  it  is  a  mistake  to 
say  that  such  expression  is  due  to  "  bury,"  or  that  it  has 
anything,  directly,  to  do  with  it.  He  buries  the  knife, 
thrusting  it  into  his  body.  Does  bury  mean  to  thrust  ? 
The  cannon-ball  was  buried  into  the  ground  by  its  lyro- 
jeciive  impetus.     Does  bury  mean.  "  to  project"  ? 

In,  compounded  with  bury,  in-bury,  in-tomb,  has  as  little 
power  to  change  the  character  of  the  word.  It  only  em- 
phasizes the  inness  of  condition.  The  same  is  true  of  m 
joined  with  mergo;  and  when  our  Baptist  friends  take 
occasion,  from  the  use,  at  times,  of  the  Latin  preposition 
to  denote  motion,  to  engraft  this  idea  on  im-mergo,  im- 
merse, they  do  what  is  incapable  of  justification.  It  is, 
however,  on  this  ground  (and  failure  to  supply  the  exec- 
utive verb)  that  the  meaning,  dip,  plunge,  has  been  erro- 
neously attributed  to  this  word,  with  some  appearance  of 
truth;  while,  its  true  nature  and  proper  usage  allowed  it 


86  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

to  be  used  in  cases  where  dip  and  plunge  were  inadmissi- 
ble. Therefore,  dip  and  plunge  have  been  used  where 
they  could  be,  and  immerse  has  been  used  where  it  must 
be,  with  the  assumption  that  it  was  a  kindred  word  with 
them,  and  expressive  of  act  and  movement.  This  duplicity 
of  use  (I  mean  not  to  reproach,  but  only  to  show  that  Latin 
terms  Anglicised  may  change  their  value)  must  be  abated, 
even  though  it  should  cost  our  Baptist  friends  the  very 
serious  and  painful  loss  of  dipping  as  an  act  of  divine  com- 
mand. 

FAILURE. 

Having  now  listened  with  patience,  and  not  without  much 
interest,  to  all  which  Baptist  w^riters  have  to  say  as  to  the 
meaning  of /3a-r:'^w,  with  the  conviction,  that  if  they  could 
make  good  a  moiety  of  their  unqualified  assertions  farther 
investigation  would  be  precluded,  I  must  confess  myself 
not  a  little  suprised  at  the  result. 

"Where  is  that  one,  clear,  precise,  and  definite  meaning? 
Certainly  it  is  not  in  Baptist  writings.  Where  is  the  evi- 
dence that  ^ccTTTfu  and  ^ar^ri^ui  have,  precisely,  the  same 
meaning,  form,  force,  and  eftcct?  Kot,  assuredly,  in  Bap- 
tist writings.  Where  is  the  evidence  that  (iar.riXta  expresses 
an  act,  a  definite  act,  mode,  and  nothing  but  mode,  to  dip? 
Xot  a  particle  is  to  be  found  in  Baptist  writings.  Where 
is  the  evidence  that  fia-rif^to  expresses  in  secondary  use  the 
act  (dipping),  which  is  attributed  to  it  in  primary  use? 
Baptist  writers  have  not  furnished  it. 

Where  is  that  English  word,  the  daguerreotype  of  the 
Greek  word,  which  was  to  Hash  forth  the  one,  clear,  and 
definite  meaning,  so  that  "  a  wayfaring  man  though  a  fool 
need  not  err  therein"  ?  There  is  not  a  Baptist  writer, 
during  three  hundred  years,  who  has  ottered  such  a  word 
with  the  attempt  to  carry  it  througli  Greek  usage. 

And  where  is  that  translation  which  was  to  rebuke  the 
disloyalty  of  the  Christian  world,  and  indicate  the  un- 
swerving fealty  of  the  few?  "It  is  found  in  im-mcrse." 
And  if  the  Holy  Spirit  employs  a  word  (as  we  are  told 


ADMINISTKATION   OF   THE   RITE.  87 

that  lie  does)  wliich  "  means  im-merge,  sub-merge,  dip, 
plunge,  im-bathe,  whelm,"  by  what  authority  are  these  six 
defining  terms  rejected  and  the  seventh  taken?  Or  if,  as 
we  are  also  told,  and  as  Greek  usage  proves,  forty  other 
acts  may  execute  the  will  of  this  Greek  word,  why  are  the 
thirty-nine  rejected  and  the  fortieth  taken  to  represent, 
just  and  no  more,  the  mind  of  the  Spirit?  If  "im-merse" 
is  used  in  the  sense  to  dip,  to  plunge,  it  does  most  essen- 
tially fail  to  reflect  the  Greek  word;  if  it  is  not  used  in  that 
sense,  then  away  with  the  definition — dip,  plunge;  or  away 
with  the  "  one  meaning  through  all  Greek  literature." 

An  inspection  of  Baptist  writings  does  not  confirm  the 
notion,  that  the  work  of  defining  this  word  has  been  done 
by  them  so  thoroughly  and  so  exhaustively  of  truth,  that 
all  farther  inquiry  is  a  work  of  supererogation. 

ADMINISTKATION  OF  THE  EITE. 

Before  instituting  any  inquiry  of  our  own  as  to  the 
meaning  of  this  word,  let  us  hear,  still  farther,  what  is  to 
be  said  as  to  the  practical  administration  of  the  rite,  and 
the  reduction  of  the  theoretical  meaning  of  the  word  to 
concrete  practice. 

"We  may,  reasonably,  expect  to  find,  here,  harmony  with 
announced  principles,  if  not  absolute  truth. 

The  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Baptist  Churches  (A.D. 
1644),  40th  Article :  "  The  way  and  manner  of  dispensing 
this  ordinance  the  Scriptures  hold  out  to  be  dipping  or 
plunging  the  whole  body  under  water." 

Booth  (p.  146) :  "  The  ordinance  should  be  administered 
by  immersing  the  subject  in  water." 

Ripley  (p.  120) :  "  The  candidates  being  placed  under 
water." 

Wayland  (p.  87) :  "  We  believe  that  the  ordinance  of 
baptism  is  to  be  administered  by  the  immersion  of  the 
body  in  water." 

Curtis  (p.  68):  "Baptism  as  a  symbol  necessarily  em- 
braces an  immersion  or  burial  of  the  body  in  water." 


88  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Jcwett  (p.  13) :  "  The  immersion  of  the  subject  in  water 
is  essential  to  the  ordinance."  (p.  46):  "In  baptism  we 
are  commanded  to  perform  the  act  represented  by  the 
word  baptize." 

Stovel  (p.  417):  "What  is  to  be  baptized?  The  answer 
is,  persons."  (p.  495) :  "  The  act,  therefore,  is  not  spriuk- 
lin<?  or  pouring;  but  the  motion  takes  place  in  the  man, 
and  ceases  when  the  man  is  baptized  in  the  water." 

THE  ACT— THE  OBJECT— THE  END. 

In  these  statements  respecting  the  administration  of  the 
rite  three  things  are  presented  as  of  cardinal  importance: 
1.  The  act  required  to  be  performed.  2.  The  object  to 
which  that  act  is  addressed.  3.  The  end  toward  which 
the  act  carries  its  object.  Let  us  consider  what  is  said 
of  these  severally. 

1.  The  act. — Are  we  to  understand  that  a  definite  act  is 
tauo-ht  or  not  ?  Surely  this  matter  ought  not  to  be  left  in 
the  dark.  Prof.  Jewett  seems  to  speak  plainly:  "We  are 
commanded  to  perform  the  act  represented  by  the  word 
baptize."  Very  well;  if  we  are  "  commanded"  by  God  "  to 
perform  an  act,"  it  is  very  important  that  we  should  know 
what-  that  act  is.  Will  the  Professor  give  us  the  informa- 
tion? Certainly;  it  is  the  act  of  "the  immersion  of  the 
subject  in  water."  Very  good.  And  now  may  we  ask 
what  is  the  act  in  "the  immersion  of  the  subject  in 
water"  ?  Undoubtedly,  it  is  "  the  act  which  we  are  com- 
manded to  perform  by  the  word  baptize."  Indeed  !  After 
such  a  lucid  circular  exposition,  who  can  complain  that 
"the  act  commanded"  is  not  perfectly  "clear,  precise,  and 
definite"? 

When  we  turn  to  Dr.  Wayland,  we  are  again  confronted 
with  an  "  immersion  of  the  body  in  water."  And  so  with 
Curtis,  with  the  addition,  "  or  burial."  Booth  reiterates, — 
"  immersing  the  subject  in  water"  is  tlie  way  "  the  ordin- 
ance should  be  administered."  But,  here,  we  have  at  least 
a  negative  guide  to  the  act;  it  cannot  be  plunge,  ibr  this 


THE    ACT — THE    OBJECT — THE    END.  89 

writer  says  that  word  "makes  our  sentiment  and  practice 
ridiculous."  "Wliat  act,  then,  do  Wajland,  and  Curtis,  and 
Jewett  propose  when  they  say :  "  We  are  commanded  to 
perforVii  the  act,"  hut  it  is  not  "plunge"?  Stovel,  too, 
helps  us,  negatively,  when  he  says :  "  The  act  is  not 
sprinkling"  (although  there  was  a  very  extensive  haptism 
by  sprinkling  when  ISToah  sought  refuge  from  it  in  the 
Ark) ;  "  nor  pouring"  (although  his  friend  Fuller  thinks 
that  the  act  of  pouring  is  quite  competent  to  effect  a  hap- 
tism); hut  the  act  consists  in  "moving  a  man  until  he  is 
baptized  in  water."  Such,  then,  positively,  is  "  the  act 
commanded;" — to  baptize  a  man  is  to  ^^move  a  man  until 
he  is  baptized"!  An  act  of  singular  lucidity — "clear, 
precise,  and  definite." 

Prof.  Kipley  eschews  the  use  of  immerse,  with  its  double- 
ness,  as,  also,  "  the  moving  a  man  until  he  is  baptized," 
and  adopts  phraseology  which  neither  expresses  a  definite 
act  nor  movement  of  the  object  to  be  baptized. 

The  Confession  of  Faith,  venerable  with  the  3'ears  of  a 
third  century,  unlike  its  more  modern  representatives, 
gives  forth  no  uncertain  sound:  "The  way  or  manner  of 
dispensing  this  ordinance  the  Scriptures  hold  out  to  be 
dipping  or  plunging." 

This  doctrine,  or  its  plain,  outspoken  English  utterance, 
is  becoming  quite  old-fashioned.  New  terms  in  theological 
issues  seldom  fail  to  foreshadow  a  departure  from  the  old 
"way  and  manner."  It  will,  most  probably,  be  found,  in 
the  present  case,  that  a  Latin  derivative  has  been  resorted 
to  for  the  purpose  of  covering  over  the  abandonment  of 
those  ruder  spoken  terms,  dip  and  plunge,  as  the  exponents 
of  "  the  act  commanded." 

If  there  is  a  consciousness  of  error  in  giving  such  mean- 
ing to  the  word,  let  the  acknowledgment  be  made  as 
frankly  as  by  Morell :  "  We  give  up,  thus  far,  the  cause 
of  immersion."  If,  while  abandoning  these  acts,  it  still 
be  insisted  upon  that  some  act  is  commanded ;  and  that 
"the  act  commanded"  must  be  performed;  then,  in  turn, 
we  insist  on  being  told  what  "  the  act  commanded"  is.    Do 


90  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

not  give  us  half  a  dozen  different  words  varying  in  tlieir 
forms  of  action,  and  say  we  may  take  our  choice;  we  wish 
no  greater  hberty  than  "the  command"  gives;  we  are  will- 
ing, anxious,  to  be  bound  by  it.  Tell  us,  then,  "  the  act." 
There  is  but  one  word  used  in  the  text.  You  cannot 
"  dip"  in  half  a  dozen  different  ways.  If  baptize  means 
"  to  dip,"  you  cannot  obey  the  command  by  baptizing  in 
a  half  dozen  different  ways;  no,  not  by  }:)limging,  for  Booth 
says  these  are  essentially  different  acts;  nor  hj  pouring,  al- 
though Fuller  says  you  can;  nor  by  overflowing,  although 
Cox  says  you  can.  If  the  command  is  "  to  dip,"  and  "the 
command  is  to  be  obeyed,"  then,  thus  far  must  we  go,  and 
no  farther.  If  baptize  does  not,  definitely,  mean  any  one 
of  these  acts,  but  still  does  dehnitely  mean  action,  move- 
ment, embracing  them  all,  then  let  us  be  furnished  with 
an  English  word  of  equal  breadth  (as  "  the  translation  is 
the  easiest  possible"),  and  let  us  hear  no  more  of  "  the  act 
commanded."  But  if  the  word  does  not  belong  either  to 
the  class  of  words  expressive  of  definite  forms  of  action ; 
nor  of  action  indefinite ;  but  to  that  class  which  is  expres- 
sive of  state,  condition,  result,  employing  "  forty"  or  four 
hundred  acts  for  the  accomplishment;  then,  do  not  give  us 
seven  defining  words,  neither  of  which,  confessedly,  meas- 
ures the  original,  making  up  the  deficiency  by  saying  that 
they  agree  in  "a  ground  idea."  Give  us  a  word  which 
expresses,  like  the  original,  that  "  ground  idea,"  and  we 
will  dispense  with  "the  seven"  which  do  not. 

If  I  am  commanded  "  to  bridge  a  river,"  I  protest  against 
the  interpretation  of  this  command  into  an  injunction  to 
build — 1,  ixpicr  bridge;  or,  2,  an  «rcA bridge;  or,  3,  a  tubu- 
lar bridge;  or,  4,  a  suspension  bridge;  or,  5,  adraio  bridge; 
or,  6,  a  stone  bridge;  or,  7,  a  pontooji  bridge.  I  f)rotest 
against  all  of  these  "  seven"  being  taken  as  the  represen- 
tative of  the  original  command,  on  the  plea  of  agreement 
in  a  common  "  ground  idea."  And  I  protest  against  the 
use  of  any  of  these  seven  to  translate  "  faithfully"  into  a 
foreign  tongue  the  original  command.  If  is  my  liberty  to 
use  "pier,"  "arch,"  "tube,"  "wire,"  "draw,"  "stone," 


THE   ACT — THE   OBJECT — THE   END.  91 

"pontoon,"  any  one  or  any  combination;  and  no  one  has 
a  right  to  infringe  that  liberty  by  putting  into  the  com- 
mand any  one  which  he  may  fancy  to  select,  and  command 
me  to  build  that. 

If  it  should  be  concluded  to  abandon  the  idea  that  act, 
definite  or  indefinite,  is  commanded;  and  it  be  acknowl- 
edged that  result,  state,  condition,  constitutes  the  matter 
of  the  command ;  then  we  ask  for  a  word  which  will  def- 
initely express  that  idea,  and  not  something  else.  This 
will  be  easy  for  those  to  do  who  say,  "  difficulty  of  trans- 
lation is  all  a  pretence." 

"When  such  word  is  secured,  we  farther  demand  that  it 
shall  reign  with  imperial  autocracy  through  all  its  usage, 
and  that  we  shall  no  longer  have  a  rebellious  dip  or  plunge 
introduced  to  control  translation  or  interpretation. 

"  The  act  represented  by  the  word  baptize,"  which  "we 
are  commanded  to  perform,"  seems  to  be  left  very  much 
in  the  dark  by  Prof.  Jewett  and  friends. 

2.  The  object. — The  object  on  which  this  act  expends 
itself,  next  claims  attention.  Stovel  says,  "the  man;" 
Jewett  and  Booth  say,  "the  subject;"  Wayland  and  Curtis 
say,  "the  body;"  Ripley  says,  " the  candidate;"  and  the 
Confession  of  Faith  says,  "the  whole  body." 

Here  there  is  neither  ambiguity  of  phraseology  nor  con- 
flict of  sentiment.  If  Baptist  writers  exhibited  as  much 
clearness  and  unity  in  speaking  of  the  act  of  baptism  as 
of  the  object  of  baptism,  they  would  be  above  reproach. 

"Man,"  "subject,"  "body,"  "candidate,"  "whole body," 
presents  diversity  of  phraseology^-,  but  unity  of  material 
object.  This  object  is,  also,  presented  in  the  same  aspect; 
the  act  expends  itself  not  on  any  of  its  parts,  but  includes 
the  "whole." 

Dip,  plunge,  imbathe,  whelm,  sink,  overflow,  exhibit  no 
such  unity  of  act  under  diversity  of  terms. 

The  universal  faith  of  the  Baptist  Church  is,  that  bap- 
tize commands  "  the  whole  hody  to  be  dipped  or  plunged  in 
water." 

Does  classic  Greek  require  this?    Timon  baptized  a  man 


92  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

in  water.  Did  lie  "  clip  or  plunge  his  whole  body"  ?  No,  he 
put  more  or  less  of  his  head  under  water,  and  so  drowned 
him.  ]^ow,  what  shall  be  said  of  the  position — "baptize 
requires  the  wdiole  body  to  be  dipped  or  plunged"?  Is  it 
not  most  evidently  erroneous?  But  why  does  Lucian  call 
pushing  the  head  under  water  baptism  of  the  man  ?  Be- 
cause the  rest  of  his  body  was,  already,  under  water, 
and  what  remained  out  was  pushed  under?  jSTo.  (1.)  This 
could  never  be  called  a  baptism,  if  baptize  requires  the 
whole  body  to  be  dipped  or  plunged.  (2.)  If  the  bead  and 
body  of  this  man  had  been  under  water,  except  his  foot  or 
hand,  or  leg  or  arm,  and  Timon  had  pushed  that  into  the 
water,  the  Greeks  would  have  smiled  at  the  suggestion 
that  such  an  act  should  be  called  a  baptism  of  the  man. 
Did  the  Greeks  adopt  the  principle,  that  any  part  of  an 
object  being  baptized,  the  whole  might  be  said  to  be  bap- 
tized? They  did  not;  but  they  did  adopt  the  principle 
(as  this  and  other  cases  show),  that  where  the  head,  the 
nobler  part,  was  baptized,  the  man  was,  justly,  said  to  be 
baptized;  especially  when  that  part  influenced  the  whole 
man. 

In  Prussia,  certain  Baptists  dip  the  head,  only,  into  a 
vessel  of  water.  "Regular"  Baptists  will  find  it  hard  to 
justify  the  withholding  fellowship  from  these  imitators  of 
the  old  Greek,  on  the  ground  that  baptize  necessarily  dips 
the  whole  body.  Baptist  sentiment  and  Grecian  practice 
are  at  contraries. 

But  how  is  it  as  to  the  accord  between  Baptist  sentiment 
and  Baptist  practice  ?     Are  they  at  one  ? 

Hear  Prof.  Ripley  (p.  76):  "Prof  Stuart  blends  together 
two  things  that  are  perfectly  distinct,  viz.,  the  going  down 
into  the  w^ater  and  the  immersion  into  it.  That  the  going 
down  into  the  water  was  the  immersion,  no  one  believes; 
the  immersion  after  the  descent  into  the  water  is  expressed 
by  another  word,  he  baptized  him." 

Is  it  not  marvellous  that  thoughtful  men  can  w^'ite  after 
this  fashion,  having  laid  down  the  principle  —  "baptize 
dips  or  plunges  the  whole  body  ?"     Is  the  baptism  which 


THE   ACT — THE    OBJECT — THE   END.  93 

Prof.  Ripley  describes  modelled  after  that  Avhieli  Baptist 
sentiment  demands,  or  after  that  "svhich  Lucian  describes  ? 
He  says:  "No  one  believes"  that  "the  going  down  into 
the  water"  is  the  baptism;  "these  two  things  are  perfectly 
distinct;"  the  baptism  takes  place  "after  the  descent  into 
the  water;"  "it  is  expressed  by  another  word."  Very 
well;  but  if  baptism  is  dipping  the  head  into  water  after 
"the  candidate"  has  done  "a  very  different  thing,"  to  wit, 
"  walked  into  the  water,"  which  "  no  one  believes"  to  be 
baptism,  why  announce,  as  a  sentiment  of  faith  demanded 
by  "  fealty  to  God,"  that  "  the  way  and  manner  of  dis- 
pensing this  ordinance  the  Scriptures  hold  out  to  be  dip- 
ping or  plunging  the  whole  body  under  water"?  And  yet 
the  Professor  describes  the  universal  practice,  which  is  in 
flat  contradiction  to  universal  sentiment. 

Timon's  baptism  was  by  pushing  the  head  under  water 
after  the  unhapp}'  man  had  gone  down  into  the  water,  or 
had  fallen  into  the  water,  or  had  been  swept  away  by  a 
flood,  or  in  some  other  "  perfectly  distinct"  way  had  got 
into  the  water,  and  was  covered  up  with  the  exception  of 
his  head.  And  after  the  same  model  is  Prof.  Ripley's 
baptism.  Baptists  must  change  their  principle  or  their 
practice.  If  their  principle  is  right,  there  is  no  obedience 
to  "the  act  commanded,"  and  no  baptism  in  their  practice; 
and  if  their  practice  is  right,  there  is  no  truth  in  their  in- 
terpretation of  the  command,  or  in  their  principle  which 
they  deduce  from  it. 

If  to  this  it  be,  apologetically,  answered:  "All  the  body 
gets  under  water  somehow,  although  not  by  the  act  of  bap- 
tism, nor  in  obedience,  therefore,  to  the  mode  in  the  com- 
mand; and  what  is  the  difference  if  we  substitute  the  act 
of  walking  for  the  act  of  dipping;  the  act  of  the  candidate 
for  the  act  of  the  administrator;  the  head  for  the  whole 
body" ? 

"Well,  I  do  not  know  that  it  makes  much  "  difference"  to 
others,  if  Baptists  are  satisfied.  It  is  their  business  to  have 
some  harmony  between  sentiment  and  practice,  or  not  to 
throw  very  big  "  rocks"  at  other  people's  glass  houses. 


94  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"But  it  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  'to  dip  the  whole 
body  into  water.'  "  That  may  all  be  very  true ;  but  it 
sounds  passing  strange  from  Baptist  lips.  "Difficulty" 
stand  in  the  way  of  a  faithful  administration  of  baptism! 
"Why,  I  thought  that  that  line  of  argument  had  been  set- 
tled against  the  Christian  world  long,  long  ago,  by  two 
words — "  divine  command."  Arc  Baptists  ready  to  eat  up 
their  mass  of  argumentation  (not  always  flattering  to  self- 
esteem)  on  this  point?  Will  they  now  say  (what  their 
opponents  never  said,  and,  through  grace,  never  will  say), 
that  difficulty  in  execution  is  an  apology  for  disobedience 
to  a  clear  divine  command?  Others  have  said  that  diffi- 
culties claim  consideration  in  making  interpretation  of  a 
divine  command,  and  for  this  and  other  good  reasons  they 
have  judged,  that  "there  is  no  divine  command  to  dip  the 
whole  body  into  water;"  and,  therefore,  do  not  do  so. 
Baptists  have  judged  tlmt  God  has  given  such  command 
in  the  most  explicit  term's  of  which  language  is  capable; 
and  yet  have  never,  in  one  instance,  for  three  hundred 
years,  obeyed  the  command.  They  may  be  disposed  to 
make  light  of  this  discrepance  between  their  sentiment 
and  practice,  but  it  is  vain ;  it  is  ruinous  to  their  system 
as  it  stands. 

Whatever  the  difficulty  in  dipping  the  whole  body,  it 
involves  no  impossibility.  When  others  have  suggested 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  dip  or  plunge  couches;  the 
difficulty  has  been  smiled  away.  "  The  whole  body"  is 
not  as  large  as  a  couch.  When  it  has  been  said,  it  would 
be  difficult  for  the  twelve  to  baptize  the  three  thousand; 
the  answer  has  been  prompt:  "If  more  were  necessary,, 
we  will  find  them;  where  were  the  seventy"?  K  more 
are  necessary  "  to  dip  the  whole  body,"  can  they  not  be 
found?  When  it  has  been  objected  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult for  John  to  live  in  the  water  during  all  his  ministry, 
dipping  or  plunging  such  multitudes;  the  answer  has  been 
prompt:  "Then  we  will  put  him  on  the  bank,  and  he 
shall  dip  them  thence."  Could  not  "  the  Avhole  body"  be 
slid  off  from  the  bank  by  a  little  clever  management? 


THE   ACT — THE   OBJECT — THE    END.  95 

Is  it  possible  that  the  rich  invention  which  has  sur- 
mounted so  many  obstacles  can,  at  last,  be  exhausted? 
Can  no  way  be  devised  by  which  the  divine  command  can 
be  met,  and  "  the  whole  body  dipped  or  plunged"  ? 

May  not  a  stimulus  to  genius  be  found  in  the  happy 
bearing  which  it  would  have  on  the  baptism-burial  of 
Curtis?  Would  it  not  be  far  more  like  a  burial  to  carry 
the  whole  body  into  the  water  and  lay  it  in  "  the  watery 
tomb,"  than  for  a  living  man  to  walk  into  the  water 
("which  no  one  believes  to  be  baptism"),  and  then  to  dip 
his  head  and  shoulders?  Besides,  was  not  the  body  of  the 
Saviour,  "  the  whole  body,"  thus  carried  and  laid  in  the 
tomb;  and  are  we  not  "buried  with  him,  and  like  him,  in 
baptism"?  There  is  nothing  in  burial-baptism  which  has 
better  authority  than  this.  Why  not  adopt  it,  and  ventilate 
a  new  argument,  with  whole  obedience  to  the  divine  com- 
mand in  "  dipping  the  whole  bqdy  into  water?" 

The  practicability  of  the  thing  has  been  demonstrated. 
Eunomius  and  his  disciples,  we  are  told,  did  "  dip  into 
M^ater  the  whole  bod}-,"  by  the  help  of  ropes  and  pulleys. 
Whether  this  feat  was  performed  under  the  impulse  of  a 
conception  of  duty  similar  to  this  modern  notion,  I  cannot 
say;  but  the  thing  has  been  done,  and,  therefore,  can 
be  done. 

None  need  hesitate  through  fear  that  "  ropes  and  pulleys" 
could  not  secure  an  orthodox  Greekly  baptism.  Classic 
Greek  gives  us  examples  of  just  such  baptisms;  and  Dr. 
Carson  would,  by  like  means,  baptize  "  the  couches"  of 
Scripture.  Eunomius  cannot  be  made  a  heretic  on  the 
ground  of  his  "act  of  baptism."  And  why  be  troubled 
with  "  unseemliness"?  Has  not  every  suggestion  of  this 
nature  been  answered,  to  all  Baptist  minds,  with  as  much 
triumph  as  indignation  ?  Why,  then,  not  harmonize  prin- 
ciple and  practice? 

"Dip  the  whole  body,"  by  some  legitimate  process,  and 
do  not  put  the  larger  part  of  the  body  under  water  by  the 
walking  of  the  candidate  (which  Professor  Ripley  says, 
" nobody  believes  to  be  baptism");  or,  while  baptizing  a 


96  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

part  only  of  the  body,  extend  some  grace  tou  ard  those  who 
do  so  in  like  manner. 

3.  The  end. — Stovel  says,  "  the  act  moves  the  man,  and 
ceases  when  the  man  is  baptized  in  the  water;"  that  is,  I 
suppose,  when  he  is  put  under  the  water. 

The  Confession  of  Faith  "  plunges  the  whole  body  under 
water,"  and  thus  and  there,  ends  "  the  way  and  manner  of 
dispensing  this  ordinance." 

Dr.  Conant  says  (p.  60) :  "  The  idea  of  emersion  is  not 
included  in  the  Greek  word.  It  means  simply  to  put  into 
or  under  water,  without  determining  whether  the  object 
immersed  sinks  to  the  bottom,  or  floats  in  the  liquid,  or  is 
immediatel}'  taken  out.  A  living  being  put  under  water 
without  intending  to  drown  him,  is  of  course  to  be  imme- 
diately withdrawn  from  it;  and  this  is  to  bo  understood 
whenever  the  w^ord  is  used  with  reference  to  such  a  case." 

Til  is  is  hardly  a  fair  statement  of  the  case.  It  is  true, 
that  there  is  nothing  in  the  word  to  prevent  its  object  from 
being  "immediately  taken  out  of  the  water;"  but  it  is 
also  true,  that  the  word  never  contemplates  the  removal 
of  its  object  from  the  condition  in  which  it  has  placcc^  it. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  word  bury  to  prevent  its  object 
from  being  "  immediately  taken  out."  It  would,  however, 
be  a  very  extraordinar}-  thing  to  say  that  "  bury"  deter- 
mines nothing  as  to  whether  its  object  is  to  be  immediately 
taken  out  of  a  state  of  burial.  So  far  as  bury  is  concerned 
it  contemplates  nothing  else,  and  if  the  burial  is  but  for  a 
moment  this  word  has  nothing  to  do  with  it;  neither  can 
it  be  used  to  express  the  idea  of  a  momentary  burial. 
Boys  may,  in  sport,  bury  one  another  in  the  hay-mow  or- 
in  a  snow-bank;  a  vessel  may,  for  a  moment,  be  buried 
under  a  wave;  but  such  brief  burial  never  converts  bury 
into  dip;  nor  is  the  idea  in  a  dipping  and  in  a  momentary 
burial  the  same,  whatever  resemblance  there  may  be  in 
the  brevity  of  continuance.  Bur}'  remains  the  strong  word, 
and  is  used  because  of  its  power;  while  dip  remains  a  feeble 
word.  The  same  is  true  of  /Sa—j'^w.  It  is  never  used  to 
express  a  momentary  condition;  although  that  condition 


THE   ACT — THE    OBJECT — THE    END,  97 

may  be,  and  in  some  very  few  cases  is,  of  short  conimu- 
ance.  But  in  such  cases  there  is  always  an  element  present 
which  renders  the  word,  in  its  peculiarity,  appropriate; 
just  as  in  the  case  of  bury.  It  is  never  used  to  express 
the  idea  of  ^A-tu)^  even  in  brief  mersions,  any  more  than  is 
bury  under  like  circumstances. 

The  statement  respecting  a  living  man  put  under  water 
without  intending  to  drown  him,  and  the  necessity  for  his 
"immediate  withdrawal,"  is  not  better  grounded  in  the 
merits  of  the  case.  I  yemember  but  one  solitary  case  in 
the  classics  to  which  the  supposed  case  is,  at  all,  applicable. 

"  IFAtTcrcr  the  word  is  used  with  reference  to  such  a 
case,  he  must  be  immediately  withdrawn,"  has,  therefore, 
a  very  sharp  limitation. 

But  even  this  case  does  not  square  with  the  language 
used.  I  know  not  of  one  case  where  a  living  man  is 
simply  put  into  the  water,  and  withdrawn  from  it,  by  the 
party  putting  him  in.  To  dip,  requires  that  the  one  dip- 
ping should  withdraw  the  object  dipped.  If  I  dip  a  man, 
I  both  put  him  in  and  take  him  out;  but  if  I  plunge  a  man, 
01*  souse  a  man,  or  immerse  a  man,  though  I  do  not  intend 
to  drown  him,  yet  it  is  not  implied  that  I  withdraw  him 
from  the  water;  I  may  leave  him  to  shift  for  himself  The 
withdrawing  is  necessary  to  a  dipping;  but  the  withdraw- 
ing would  not  necessarily  convert  a  baptism  into  a  dipping, 
although  I  know  of  no  such  feature  in  any  classic  baptism. 

Dr.  Conant  seeks  to  sustain  the  ritual  dipping  of  a  man 
into  water,  and  his  instant  withdrawal,  by  the  usage  of  the 
Greek  word.  It  cannot  be  done.  It  cannot  be  done;  not 
simply  because  of  the  brief  continuance  under  the  water, 
but  because  it  is,  and  is  intended  to  be,  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a  dipping. 

If  I  put  into,  and  withdraw  promptly  from  water  a  bag 
of  gold,  I  dip  it;  but  if  it  slips  from  my  hand  and  it  sinks, 
although  I  may  recover  it  within  as  brief  a  space  of  time 
as  in  the  other  case,  it  is  not  a  case  of  dipping.  Any  ob- 
ject may  sink,  and  remain  in  this  condition  for  the  briefest 
duration;  still,  sink  is  not  converted  into  dip.     Although, 

7 


98  CLASSIC   BAPTISM". 

therefore,  Dr.  Conant  may  find  a  very  few  cases  in  which 
the  baptism  was  for  a  limited  period,  he  can  find  no  case 
in  which  a  baptism  can  be  converted  into  a  dipping;  there- 
fore, he  can  find  no  case  of  the  use  of  this  Greek  word  by 
which  the  ritual  practice  of  dipping  a  man  into  water,  as  a 
baptism,  can  be  justified. 

But  it  is  said  that  "  if  a  man  is  not  taken  out  of  the  water 
he  will  be  drowned,  and  that  was  never  intended  by  Chris- 
tian baptism." 

But  why  was  the  man  put  into  tke  water  ?  "  Why,  to  be 
baptized."  Well,  baptize  will  put  a  man  into  water,  but 
it  never  did  and  never  will  take  him  out.  This  Dr.  Conant 
admits;  but,  he  adds,  as  the  man  is  not  intended  to  be 
drowned,  he  must  be  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  baptize, 
which  otherwise  would  drown  him.  In  other  words,  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  employed  a  word  which  requires,  abso- 
lutely, disciples  to  be  put  under  water  without  making  any 
provision  for  their  withdrawal;  and  Dr.  Conant  has  to  find 
some  way  to  remedy  the  defect,  on  the  ground  of  an  inference 
that  they  are  not  to  be  drowned !  And  all  this  wlien/JaTTTw 
would  have  done  just  what  Dr.  Conant  thinks  necessary  to 
volunteer  to  do,  namel}^,  to  put  in  momentarily  and  with- 
draw; which  word  the  Holy  Spirit  never  once  uses.  Now, 
such  an  oversight  (may  the  word  be  used  without  irrever- 
ence?) by  the  Holy  Spirit  is  infinitely  incredible.  And  the 
Baptist  system,  which  is  responsible  for  originating  such 
an  idea,  is,  thereby,  hopelessly  ruined. 

All  Greek  writers  refuse  to  interchange /Sa-rt'^w  and^'Sa-rw; 
the  Holy  Spirit  persistently  refuses  to  employ  /9a-rw,  or  to 
interchange  it,  in  a  single  instance,  with  [ia-ri'^co  in  speaking 
of  Christian  baptism;  is  it  becoming  in  those  who  are 
"very  jealous  for  the  Holy  Spirit"  to  substitute  another 
word  for  that  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth?  Or,  re- 
taining the  form  of  the  word,  to  supplant  it  by  using  the 
meaning  of  a  rejected  word?  But  this  is  done  by  those 
who  substitute  [idnrm  for  ^a-TiX.(a ',  or,  wlio  givc  to  the  latter 
word  the  meaning  of  the  former. 

Thus,  as  we  give  our  attention  to  what  Baptist  writers 


VALID    BAPTISM.  99 

say  in  relation  to  the  administration  of  the  rite,  we  find 
that  they  break  down  at  every  point. 

1.  There  is  a  hopeless  disagreement  as  to  the  command; 
whether  it  enjoins  a  specific  act  or  not,  and,  if  so,  what  is 
its  precise  nature. 

2.  As  to  the  object  on  which  the  act  bears;  the  whole 
body  says  theory,  a  part  of  the  body  rejoins  practice. 

3.  The  language  of  inspiration  (we  are  told)  puts  dis- 
ciples under  water,  but  makes  no  provision  for  getting 
them  out.  In  this  dilemma  an  unwritten  command  is 
added  to  the  Scripture,  on  the  authority  of  an  inference 
(the  necessity  for  which  is  self-created),  and  so  life  is  saved! 

•  VALID  BAPTISM. 

The  Baptist  system  rejects,  as  without  validity,  every 
baptism  which  does  not  bear  certain  marks  which  it  lays 
down  as  essential. 

Professor  Jewett:  "  The  immersion  of  the  subject  in  M^ater 
is  essential  to  the  ordinance." 

*'In  baptism,  we  are  commanded  to  perform  the  act 
represented  by  the  word  baptize," 

These  quotations  so  thoroughly  represent  the  Baptist 
sentiment,  on  this  point,  that  the  multiplication  of  quota- 
tions is  needless. 

Four  things  are  declared  "  essential  to  the  ordinance." 

1.  Immersion.  2.  Immersion  of  the  subject.  3.  Im- 
mersion of  the  subject  in  water.  4.  Immersion  of  the 
subject  in  water  by  the  act  commanded  in  baptize. 

1.  Immersion. — Although  Baptist  writei-s  do  not  use  this 
word  either  with  precision  or  with  uniformity,  yet  they 
will  acknowledge  that  it  carries  inness  of  position  with 
it,  Now,  we  wish  to  ask,  does  this  word,  representing 
Banziffna,  carry  with  it  any  limitation  as  to  the  time  of  con- 
tinuance ?  If  there  is  no  limitation  of  time  in  this  word, 
is  there  any  limitation  of  time  in  any  word  adjunct  with 
it?  If  there  is  not,  then,  we  ask,  on  what  authority  any 
limitation  of  continuance  can  be  introduced  ? 


100  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

We  affirm  that  there  is  no  limitation  in  the  word,  and 
that  it  cannot  be  used  for  a  momentary  mersion  without  an 
adjunct  word  expressing  that  idea;  and  that  a  designed 
"  momcntaru  mersion"  is  not  mersion^  but  is  mersion  qnah- 
iied,  so  as  to  transform  it  and  make  necessary  the  employ- 
ment of  another  term  for  its  expression,  to  wit,,  a  dipping; 
which  term  is  rejected  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  thns  a  dip- 
ping baptism  is  rejected.  This  is  as  certain  as  that  Scrip- 
ture is  Scripture. 

2.  Immersion  of  the  sidyect,-. — This  feature  has  been  al- 
ready considered.  If  this  be  essential  to  validity,  it  is  not 
more  certain  that  a  part  is  not  the  whole,  than  that  dip- 
ping the  head  and  shoulders  is  not  valid  baptism,  Samson 
jDerishes  with  the  Philistines, 

'  3.  Immersion  of  the  subject  in  luaicr.. — Some  Baj^tists  feel  a 
necessity  for  protecting  the  immersed  from  being  drowned. 
There  is  good  reason  for  the  interposition  of  their  kind 
offices.  The  facts  to  which  they  appeal  are,  however,  not 
only  inadequate  for  their  purpose  but  inappropriate..  They 
may  prove  that  a  person  immersed  in  water  need  not,  of 
necessity, be  dro's^ned;  but  they  do  not  prove  that  "immer- 
sion in  water"  would  not,  of  its  own  force  (uninterfered 
with),  drown  any  living  man.  The  dipping  into  water  of 
a  living  man  will  not,  of  its  own  proper  force^  drown  any 
one.  There  is  no  need  for  the  interference  of  any  outside 
agency  to  save  life.  It  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  contract  in 
dipping  a  man  to  take  him  out  of  the  water  as  to  put  him 
into  it.  In  immersing  a  man  there  is  no  such  requirement. 
It  is  the  mersion  only,  the  position  of  inness,  which  is 
called  for,  and  there  the  object  mersed  would  abide,  to  all 
eternity,  unless  some  outside  influence  should  recover  it. 

The  thought  which  is  in  immersion  has  no  tendency  to 
pass  into  the  thought  which  is  in  dipping.  Whatever  com- 
mon elements  they  may  have,  they  still  have  a  great  gulf 
separating  the  conception  in  the  one  from  the  conception 
in  the  other.  The  command  to  hang  a  man  is  not  fullilled 
by  suspending  him  for  a  moment.  The  command  to  im- 
merse a  man  is  not  fulfilled  by  dipping  him  for  an  instant. 


RESULT — ^EX    PARTE.  ^      101 

Tlie  reply  to  this-:  "It  is  madness  to  suppose  tliat  the 
Scriptures  command  men  to  he  drowned,"  is  met  hy  the 
echo,  "It  is  madness"  to  suppose  that  the  Scriptures  com- 
mand men  to  be  put  into  a  condition  by  a  word,  which 
unlimited  necessarily  drowns,  without  attaching  any  limit- 
ation to  that  word;  while,  all  the  time,  they  only  meant  to 
express  an  act  of  the  severest  limitations,  and  which  brings 
no  peril  with  it,  and  which  might  have  been,  precisely, 
expressed  by  another  word. 

Baptists  put  Christian  disciples  under  the  water,  and 
are,  then,  under  the  necessity  of  saving  them  from  their 
"watery  tomb"  bj-  changing  l^a-zCCu)  into  pd-zuj. 

We  do  not  object  to  men  being  taken  out  of  the  water 
after  they  have  been  improperly  put  into  it;  but  we  objeqt 
to  men  being  dipped  into  water,  and  then  claiming  to  have 
received  a  Greekly  baptism. 

There  is  nothing  more  true  than  the  proposition,  wdiich 
is  contradictory  of  that  of  Roger  Williams's  friend:  "Dip- 
ping is"  NOT  "Baptizing,  and  Baptizing  is"  not  "Dipping." 

4.  The  act. — ^Valid  baptism  requires  that  "  the  act  com- 
manded" should  be  performed.  The  act  performed  b}' 
Baptists  is  that  of  dipping.  This,  then,  must  be  the  act 
commanded,  and  the  act  which  stamps  validity.  But 
Baptist  writers,  now,  admit  that  the  commanding  Avord 
does  not  "  always"  mean  to  dip  (soon  they  will  admit  that 
it  never  means  so);  how  do  they  know  that  it  means  so  in 
this  command?  Such  confession  puts  them  all  "at  sea" 
as  to  the  act  commanded,  and  "valid  baptism"  floats  away, 
beyond  their  grasp,  into  regions  all  unknown. 

KESULT— EX  PARTE. 

The  sentiment  and  practice  of  Baptists  (as  presented  by 
themselves),  on  all  the  vital  features  of  this  controversy — 
the  meaning  of  the  word;  the  manner  of  administration; 
and  the  requisites  to  validity ; — have,  now,  passed  under 
review. 

The  object  has  been  to  hear  what  the  friends  of  these 


102       "•  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

views  had  to  say,  and  to  suggest  any  difficulties  which 
might  lie  on  the  face  of  their  own  statements;  not  to 
gather  them  up  from  other  quarters.  They  have  claimed 
that  they  were  possessed  of  absolute  truth  on  all  these 
points;  and,  that  that  truth  was  of  such  transparent  clear- 
ness, that  failure  to  recognize  it  must  be  due  not  to  intel- 
lectual uuenlightenrnent,  but  to  moral  obliquity. 

Against  the  latter  part  of  this  position  I  make  neither 
complaint  nor  offer  defence.  It  is  a  part  of  "  the  senti- 
ment" which  concerns  much  more  those  who  give  it  utter- 
ance than  those  against  whom  it  is  uttered.  In  regard  to 
the  former  part,  I  would  say : 

1.  As  to  the  word. — Baptist  writers,  spealdng  for  them- 
selves, show  either,  that  they  do  not  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  this  Greek  word,  or,  they  can  find  no  representative 
word  for  it  in  the  English  language.  (1.)  Some  (Carson) 
say:  It  means  a  definite  act — to  dip,  and  nothing  but  dip ; 
M'hile  in  cases  of  actual  usage,  when  this  word  cannot  be 
used,  they  employ  plunge,  sink,  overwhelm,  &c.,  ad  libitum. 

(2.)  Some  (Gale)  say :  It  means  a  definite  act — to  dip ; 
yet,  perhaps,  does  not  so  much  express  the  act,  as  the 
resultant  condition. 

(3.)  Some  (Cox,  Morell,  Fuller)  say:  It  means  a  definite 
act — to  dip ;  and,  also,  means  various  other  acts — to  flow, 
to  rise  up,  to  pour — which  issue  in  covering  over  their 
object. 

(4.)  Some  (Conant)  say :  It  means  an  act — to  immerse, 
to  immerge,  to  submerge,  to  dip,  to  plunge,  to  imbathe,  to 
whelm — and  yet  it  means  none  of  these,  but  a  ground  idea 
which  is  expressed  by  them  all — to  put  into — or,  to  put 
under. 

This  elaborate  explanation  is  an  earnest  endeavor  to  find 
a  nexus  binding  all  divergencies  into  unity.  It  is  unsuc- 
cessful. Duplicity  remains.  Act  and  condition  are  both 
sought  to  be  preserved,  and  the  truth  perishes  between 
them. 

2.  As  to  the  ritual  administration. — The  statement  of  their 
sentiment  and  practice  in  this  matter,  as  given  by  them- 


RESULT — EX  PARTE.  103 

selves,  shows  not  a  diversity,  but  a  contradiction  as  irre- 
concilable as  the  declaration  that  one  thing  is  another  and 
diflerent  thing;  or  that  the  whole  and  its  part  are  equal  to 
each  other. 

3.  As  to  validity. — The  elements  essential  to  validity  are 
given  with  unquestionable  honesty  of  intent  (as,  undoubt- 
edly, are  all  other  views),  inasmuch  as  their  own  fondly 
cherished  form  perishes  in  common  with  all  others. 

"With  such  results  of  Baptist  research  standing  out  upon 
the  face  of  their  writings,  it  would  seem  to  be  neither  a 
moral  delinquency,  nor  even  a  work  of  supererogation,  to 
institute  an  independent  investigation  of  this  subject,  in- 
quiring— "  What  is  truth?'' 


PART  II. 
INQUIEY  ENTEEED  UPON  INDEPENDENTLY. 


METHOD  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

Under  the  conviction,  that  the  developments  made  indi- 
cate some  essential  error,  which  vitiates  the  results  of  Bap- 
tist investigation,  we  will  enter  upon  an  examination  of  the 
suhject  for  ourselves. 

If  this  is  to  be  done  with  any  degree  of  thoroughness,  it 
will  require  patience  to  traverse  the  whole  ground,  knowl- 
edge of  well-settled  principles  of  interpretation,  candor 
and  competency  in  their  just  application,  and  common 
sense  to  know  that  a  universal  conclusion  cannot,  safely, 
rest  on  a  single  particular,  nor  on  many,  but  only  upon 
what  remains  after  a  matured  consideration  of  the  action 
and  reaction  of  all  cases  of  usage  upon  each  other. 

While  a  satisfactory  result  might  be  reached  by  an  ex- 
clusive examination  of  the  word  in  question,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  we  shall  find  assistance  by  conducting 
the  investigation  side  by  side,  with  some  closely  related, 
yet  essentially  diflcring,  word.     Such  a  word  is  fid-Tio. 

It  is,  also,  manifest  that  any  conclusions  reached  will  be 
more  firmly  established,  if  they  shall  be  sustained  by  the 
usage  of  correspondent  words  in  other  languages. 

The  terms  which  in  Latin  correspond  with  [ia-ri'^m  and 
/3a-rw  are  mergo  and  tingo;  and  in  English  immerse  (strip- 
ped of  its  Baptist  usage),  and  dip.  If  these  words,  in  these 
languages,  show  similar  usage,  resemblance,  and  diversity, 
moving  side  by  side  without  coalescence,  each  with  deeply 

(104) 


METHOD    OF   INVESTIGATION.  105 

marked  and  distinguishing  individuality,  then,  we  may  be 
assured  that  these  words  do  not  represent  a  sameness  of 
conception,  or  a  difference  founded  on  accident,  but  which 
is  grounded  in  the  necessities  of  thought  and  language. 

We  shall  avail  ourselves  of  this  source  of  help  toward 
the  firmer  establishment  of  truth. 

Beside  the  general  reason,  now  assigned  for  the  intro- 
duction of  a  detailed  consideration  of  the  usage  of  iSdizru), 
there  is  a  special,  and  imperative,  reason  found  in  the 
fact,  that  these  two  words  have  been  confounded  together 
under  the  assumption  that  they  were  of  identically  the  same 
value. 

While  this  statement  has  an  application  beyond  our 
Baptist  brethren,  it  applies  to  them  with  special  force.  It 
is  only  quite  recently  that  they  have  acknowledged,  under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  Carson,  that  iSd-rw  was  possessed  of 
a  secondarj'  meaning  (to  dye),  and  that  this  meaning  was 
independent  of  the  modal  act  of  dipping;  so  much  so,  in- 
deed, that  ftd-Tcu  could  express  dyeing  effected  by  sprmkling 
as  wxll  as  by  any  other  mode.  This  admission  is  of  mo- 
ment both  in  itself  and  as  indicative  that  long  and  earnest 
asseveration,  as  to  what  is  or  is  not  the  meaning  of  a  word, 
cannot,  safely,  be  accepted  for  proof. 

Dr.  Carson,  who  has  led  his  friends  in  this  change,  still 
asseverates  that  there  is  no  difference  between  the  primary 
meaning  of  ^d-ru)  and  the  meaning  of  /Sa-rj'^w,  the  latter"  not 
having  the  meaning  to  dye.  ITo  attempt  is  made  to  prove 
this  by  showing  a  coincidence  of  usage.  Such  attempt 
never  will  be  made  by  any  thoughtful  man.  It  is  a  matter, 
however,  of  the  first  importance  to  Baptist  "sentiment  and 
practice"  to  make  (iar.ri^u)  responsible  for  a  dipping;  con- 
sequently the  meaning  of  /3d-rw  has  been,  most  illegiti- 
mately, bound  on  to  this  word,  and  is  called  into  use  on 
every  convenient  occasion;  and  is  made  of  divine  authority 
as  "  the  act  commanded"  by  words  of  inspiration. 

If  such  relationship  between  these  words  is  radically 
erroneous,  then  all  Baptist  argumentation  upon  the  sub- 
ject is  thoroughly  vitiated. 


106  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

This  we  believe  to  be  true.  It  is  our  duty,  by  adequate 
evidence,  to  prove  that  it  is  so.  This  necessitates  a  pre- 
sentation of  the  usaore  of  both  words. 


BAUTIZa. 
CLASS   OF   WORDS   TO   WHICH   IT   BELONGS. 

It  has  ah^eady  been  stated  that  to  mersc  is  the  primary 
meaning  which  we  assign  to  this  word ;  and  that  it  does 
not,  of  its  own  force,  express  any  form  of  act,  but  the  result 
of  some  act,  or  acts  (involved  as  necessary  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  effect,  but)  unexpressed.  It  belongs, 
therefore,  to  that  class  of  verbs  which  make  immediate 
demand,  not  for  a  definite  act  to  be  done,  but  for  an  efiect, 
a  state  or  a  condition,  to  be  accomplished. 

As  this  meaning,  at  once  and  forever,  effects  a  divorce 
between  it  and  its  fellow,  it  is  desirable  that  it  should 
receive  illustration  and  enforcement  by  an  appeal  to  a  few 
words  of  the  same  class,  and  of  similar,  general  import. 

BUKY—DKOWN— WHELM. 

1.  To  BURY. — This  word  does  not  announce  an  act  to  be 
done,  but  a  result  to  be  secured. 

Home  Tooke  says:  "Burial  is  the  diminutive  from 
Burgh;  a  defended  or  fortified  place.  To  bury  means  to 
defend;  as  Gray  in  his  Elegy  expresses  it, — 

'  These  bones  from  insult  to  protect.' 

Sepelire  has  the  same  meaning, — to  hedge,  to  keep  out  of 
field  or  garden." 

To  bury,  then,  demands  protection  for  its  object  by 
position  within  some  inclosing  material.  How,  by  what 
acts  this  end  demanded  is  to  be  secured,  the  word  says 
nothing.  Many  cases,  of  the  primary  use  illustrating  this 
statement,  are  unnecessary. 

"Abraham  buried  Sarah  his  wife  in  the  cave  of  the 
field  of  Machpelah." 


BUEY — DROWN — WHELM.  107 

The  place  of  burial  being  a  natural  excavation,  the  acts 
necessary  would  be  controlled  by  that  fact. 

"  And  laid  him  in  a  sepulchre  wliich  was  hewn  out  of  a 
rock,  and  rolled  a  stone  unto  the  door  of  the  sepulchre." 

The  preparatory  and  essential  act,  in  this  case,  was  the 
hewing  out  of  the  rock  a  receptacle  wherein  the  body 
might  be  safely  deposited.  The  act  of  rolling  the  great 
stone  unto  the  door  completed  the  security  and  the  burial. 

"  The  soldiers  slain  were  buried  in  trenches  dug  on  the 
field  of  battle." 

Here  a  new  act,  digging,  is  introduced  in  the  performance 
of  the  requirement. 

"In  the  deep  bosom  of  the  ocean  buried." 

Quite  a  diflerent  class  of  acts  are  called  into  exercise  in 
an  ocean  burial,  from  that  demanded  by  a  burial  in  a  cave, 
or  a  rock  sepulchre,  or  an  earth  grave. 

"  The  daughter  of  the  Indian  chief  was  buried  on  a  plat- 
form, raised  some  feet,  on  poles." 

Such  diversity  of  act,  however,  trenches  in  nowise  on  the 
requirement  of  "  bury;"  it  said  nothing  in  relation  to  act; 
its  demand  was  that  its  object  should  be  placed  in  some 
protecting  inclosure.  This  was  done  when  the  body  was 
deposited  and  made  secure  in  the  cave,  the  sepulchre,  the 
trench,  the  ocean  cavern,  or  the  elevated  platform.  Bury 
asks  nothing  as  to  the  quo  modo  of  the  acts  by  which  the 
end  was  secured. 

The  secondary  or  metaphorical  use  of  this  word  is  equally 
devoid  of  all  reference  to  act. 

It  is  desirable  to  note  this  usage,  as  we  shall  have  much 
to  do  with  similar  usage  of  the  word  under  special  con- 
sideration, and  our  conclusions  may  be  not  a  little  in- 
fluenced thereby. 


"  He  buried  himself  in  a  monastery." 

No  act  is  suggested  by  the  use  of  the  word  in  this  pas- 
sage. ISo  act  can  assist  in  the  elucidation  of  the  meaning. 
The  act  done  was  crossing  the  threshold  and  the  closing  of 


108  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

the  door.  Does  the  interpretation  turn  on  these  acts?  It 
would  not  be  difficult  to  show  a  resemblance  between 
these  acts  and  the  carrying  a  dead  body  into  a  cave  and 
closing  its  mouth  by  a  stone;  but  does  any  sane  man 
imagine  that  we  are  called,  in  the  interpretation  of  this 
passage,  to  inquire  by  what  acts  a  burial  is  effected  ?  Is 
such  s^ondary  use  of  bury  to  be  regulated  by  carrying 
into  a  sepulchre,  lowering  down  into  a  pit,  sliding  off  from 
a  plank,  or  lifting  upon  a  platform?  Do  not  these  various 
and  contradictory  forms  of  act  show  the  absurdity  of  an 
interpretation  which  should  proceed  upon  such  a  basis? 
Are  we  not  compelled  to  put  wholly  out  of  view  the  acts, 
of  whatever  kind,  by  which  the  burial  is  effected,  and  take 
the  resultant  condition  as  that  which,  alone,  claims  atten- 
tion ? 

It  is,  also,  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  a  secondary 
use  which  is  based  on  an  act  has,  of  necessity,  a  severity  of 
limitation  which  does  not  belong  to  similar  use  based  on 
condition.  An  act  is,  necessarily,  limited  in  its  nature;  it 
must  take  some  specific  character;  it  follows,  therefore, 
that  a  metaphorical  use  must  be  characterized  by  like 
limitation. 

It  is  not  so  with  condition.  There  is  room,  here,  for  a 
variety  of  thoughts,  and  in  specific  cases  one  or  another 
may  be  chosen  and  brought  into  special  relief. 

In  the  word  "  bury,"  the  condition  suggested  may  give 
rise  to  many  varied  shades  of  thought.  Among  these  may 
be  enumerated  concealment,  removal,  restraint,  deep  pene- 
tration, &,c. 

In  the  present  case,  it  is  obvious  that  the  idea  intended 
to  be  expressed  is  that  of  concealment.  There  is  no  sug- 
gestion of  a  funeral  procession.  There  is  no  picture  de- 
signed to  be  drawn  b}^  the  writer;  but  as  an  object  buried 
is,  thereby,  concealed,  shut  out  of  view,  separated  from 
other  things,  the  use  of  the  word  is  justified  as  expressive 
of  the  idea  of  seclusion  when  applied  to  one  entering  into 
a  monastery. 

If  it  be  said,  the  phraseology — "buried  in  a  monastery" — 


BURT — DROWN — AVHELM.  109 

implies  figure ;  I  answer,  tlie  phraseology  is  made  to  har- 
monize with  biirij ;  but  does  not,  therefore,  require  any 
picturing  of  the  imagination.  Should  figure  and  picture 
be  still  insisted  upon,  I^  then,  ask  for  the  sketch.  (1.)  What 
shall  the  monastery  represent?  A  cave  like  that  of  Mach- 
pelah,  or  a  pit  dug  in  the  earth?  (2.)  Is  the  occupant  of  the 
tomb  to  be  represented  as  dead  or  alive  ?  (3.)  Who  effects 
the  burial?  The  text  says,  the  buried  man  "buried  him- 
self."    How  shall  this  be  pictured  ? 

Is  it  not  obvious  that,  in  such  phrases,  neither  can 
"bury"  nor  "in"  be  pressed,  hardly,  upon  for  the  proof 
of  figure;  but  that  a  meaning  is  to  be  attached  to  them, 
derived  from  the  primary  use,  such  as  the  case  demands. 


"  Thy  hand,  great  Chaos,  let  the  curtain  fall ; 
And  universal  darkness  buries  all." 

Will  any  one  insist  upon  "  the  act"  of  burial  here  ? 
What  will  be  made  out  of  "  letting  fall  the  curtain"?  Is 
this  the  manner  in  which  graves  are  dug  ? 

If  any  one  will  say  that  Pope  has  given  us  a  figure  in 
the  first  line,  I  will,  most  cordially,  assent.  JSTo  one  need 
be  troubled  to  find  the  picture.  It  is  all  drawn  for  us  — 
"great  chaos" — "thy  hand" — "curtain  falling" — the  ele- 
ments of  a  grand  and  awful  picture  are  all  there;  but 
when  any  one  goes  on  to  join  with  such  a  scene  another 
figure,  in  which  a  tomb,  &c.,  loom  up,  they  must  think 
that  the  writer  is  bereft  of  his  senses. 

Darkness  and  the  grave  are  always  associated,  and,  in 
fact,  are  concomitants.  Both  hide  their  objects  from  view. 
So  much,  therefore,  of  the  word  burij  as  expresses  this 
idea,  may  be  taken  when  that  term  is  used  in  connection 
with  darkness,  and  all  else  pertaining  to  it  be  dismissed  as 
inappropriate.  This  is  so  done  here.  Such  modified  use 
of  words  is  better  designated  as  a  secondary  use  than  as 
figure. 


110  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

«'  I  have,  as  when  the  sun  doth  light  a  storm, 
Bury^d  this  sigh  in  a  wrinkle  of  a  smile." 

Sliall  I,  again,  ask  for  "  the  act  of  burial"  ?  Shall  I, 
again,  ask,  whether  we  are  to  convert,  under  the  demands 
of  figure,  "a  wrinkle  of  a  smile"  into  a  grave?  Is  such 
a  method  of  interpretation  in  harmony  with  the  compari- 
son? What  is  the  point  of  resemblance  between  "  the  sun 
lighting  up  a  storm"  and  "putting  a  sigh  into  a  grave"? 
As  sunbeams  do  not  dig  graves  for  storms,  neither  do 
smiles  for  sighs. 

Is  it  not  true,  and  is  it  not  enough  to  say;  an  object  which 
is  buried  is,  thereby,  made  to  disappear;  and  as  a  sigh  is 
made  to  disappear  by  a  smile,  therefore  a  smile  may  be 
said  to  bury — cause  to  disappear — a  sigh  ? 

A  word,  in  such  secondary  use,  must  not  be  interpreted 
as  expressing  all  that  can  be  put  into  it,  in  view  of  its 
primary  use,  but  just  so  much  as  the  peculiarity  of  the  case 
may  demand. 

"Princeton  has  gone  on  in  the  accustomed  way ;  Pro- 
fessors buried  in  the  immensity  of  their  subjects." 

Does  the  sentiment  turn  on  act  or  condition  ?  An  object 
which  is  buried  is  placed  in  a  condition  which  removes  it 
from  the  surface.  Professors,  engaged  in  study,  advance 
beyond  the  surface  of  things,  progressing  into  the  depths 
of  their  great  themes;  and  to  express  this  shade  of  thought, 
profound  and  not  superficial  study,  "bury"  may  be  used. 
In  such,  all  thought  of  a  grave  is  out  of  question. 


"  Brutus.  Give  me  a  bowl  of  wine  : 
In  this  I  bury  all  unkindness,  Cassius. 

Cassius.  My  heart  is  thirsty  for  that  noble  pledge; 
I  cannot  drink  too  much  of  Brutus'  love." 

"  The  act"  of  burial,  here,  is  the  drinking  of  a  bowl 
of  wine.  Does  the  sentiment  turn  on  the  act  of  drink- 
ing ?  The  wine-cup,  emptied  in  friendly  pledge,  put  away, 
buried  "all  unkindness."    This  is  the  idea  made  emphatic 


BURY — DROWN — WHELM.  Ill 

and  impressive  by  the  use  of  a  word  with  modified  mean- 
ing and  out  of  its  ordinary  application. 


"  But  in  your  bride  you  bury  brotherhood." 

Poetry  would  become  marvellously  prosaic  under  the 
attempt  to  transfer  such  language,  interpretatively,  to  the 
canvass.  The  "  bride"  being  converted  into  a  plot  of 
ground  into  which  a  pit  is  sunk,  while  coffined  "brother- 
hood" is  being  sadly  deposited  in  its  depths! 

Better  let  the  poetry  remain,  and  call  on  secondary  use 
to  show  how,  that  as  an  object  buried  is  destroyed,  there- 
fore, when  marriage  destroys  "brotherhood"  it  is  proper 
to  say:  "  In  your  bride  you  bury  brotherhood," — meaning 
that  the  bride  is  the  occasion  of  the  destruction  of  fra- 
ternal affection. 


"  He  lay  buried  in  the  deep  lethargic  sleep  which  was 
his  only  refuge  from  the  misery  of  consciousness." 

"  The  act"  of  burial,  here,  was  drinking  to  excessive 
intoxication.  Does  such  "act"  govern  the  interpretation? 
Common  sense,  no  less,  revolts  at  such  interpretation  as 
would  convert  sleep  into  a  pit — a  "deep"  pit — in  the  earth 
or  a  cavern  in  the  sea,  at  the  bottom  of  which  should  "lie" 
the  drunken  sleeper,  covered  over,  buried,  with  earth  in 
the  one  case,  or  with  sea  billows  in  the  other. 

When  it  is  said  of  a  man  who  lies  at  our  feet,  in  full 
view,  that  "he  is  buried  in  sleep,"  is  it  not  patently  absurd 
to  say  that,  in  such  case,  "bury"  means  to  cover  over,  "to 
hide  from  view"?  Is  not  the  man  uncovered?  Is  he  not 
in  full  view?  Does  the  speaker  mean  to  stultify  himself, 
or  those  whom  he  addresses?  Such  interpretation  is  out 
of  all  question. 

An  object  which  is  buried — or  burghed — is  protected 
from  anything  which  would  assail  it;  but  this  very  pro- 
tection becomes  the  cause  of  restraint.  "What  protects  the 
buried  from  the  approach  of  enemies,  at  the  same  time 
prevents  the  buried  from  going  forth  out  of  the  protecting 


112  ^  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

inclosiire.  Protection  and  restraint,  therefore,  are  ideas 
which  equally  belong  to  the  idea  of  burial ;  and  either  of 
them,  according  to  the  "indication  of  the  case,  may  be 
taken  out  of  a  buried  condition.  'Now,  the  only  idea 
which  is  admissible  in  the  case  before  us  is  that  of  re- 
straint, or  in  intimate  conjunction  with  protection.  The 
sleeper  is  held  bound,  in  every  sense,  physical  and  intellec- 
tual, by  profound  lethargy;  and  while  he  is  thus  under 
restraint  from  which  he  is  powerless  to  escape,  he  has 
sought  this  very  bondage  "as  a  protection,  a  refuge  from 
the  misery  of  consciousness." 

"Buried"  does,  most  legitimately,  mean,  in  such  use, 
to  be  under  the  j^owcr  of;  and  such  burial  becomes  a  pro- 
tection, a  refuge,  a  burgh  from  a  stinging  conscience. 


I  mention  but  one  other  case  : 

"  Before  I  freely  speak  my  mind  herein, 
You  shall  not  only  take  the  sacrament 
To  buri/  mine  intents,  but  to  cifect 
"Whatever  I  shall  happen  to  devise." 

This  presents  an  absolute  use  of  the  word.  Are  we  to 
be  guided  by  "  an  act"  (to  dig,  for  example),  to  the  right 
understanding  of  it?  Where  is  the  grave  to  be  dug  in 
which  "mine  intents"  are  to  be  interred? 

Every  object  "buried"  is  placed  in  a  covered  condition. 
Every  such  covered  object  is  concealed.  To  bury  era- 
braces  the  idea  of  concealment.  This  is  what  is  de- 
manded by  the  speaker;  "take  the  sacrament  to  conceal 
mine  intents."  "Bury"  expresses  the  thought  emphati- 
cally— conceal  profoundly,  so  that  they  shall  be  protected 
against  the  knowledge  of  all  persons. 

These,  and  like  cases  of  usage,  prove:  (1.)  Bury  does  not 
belong  to  the  class  of  words  which  gives  expression  to  an 
act  to  be  done;  but  it  makes  demand  for  a  condition  to  be 
effected,  leaving  the  act  unexpressed  as  to  its  form,  and 
which  it  may  take  at  will. 


BURY — DROWN — WHELM.  113 

(2.)  Such  usage  is  not  well  designated  as  figure,  but 
should  be  regarded  as  a  secondary  use  in  which  a  modified 
meaning  (readily  deducible  from  the  original  meaning)  is 
presented,  while  the  structure  of  the  phrase  is  made  con- 
formable to  the  leading  word. 

(3.)  Greatly  varied  shades  of  meaning,  and  sometimes 
even  material  diversities  of  thought,  may  be  exhibited  in 
the  secondary  use  of  this  class  of  words. 

2.  To  DROWN. — IN"©  definite  act  is  expressed  by  this  word, 
nor  is  its  import  in  anywise  dependent  on  nuy  form  of  act. 
It  ex];)resses,  primarily,  the  condition  of  an  object  covered 
by  water;  and  then  the  effects,  the  influence  exerted, 
upon  such  objects  by  such  covered  condition;  and  then, 
by  an  additional  step,  influence,  of  a  correspondent  char- 
acter, where  there  ^^•as  no,  real  or  supposed,  covering  with 
water. 

That  modification  of  the  original  meaning,  which  em- 
braces the  influence  exerted  over  the  life  of  living  ani- 
mals, and  covered  by  water,  is  now  the  most  common; 
and  is  likely,  unless  guarded  against,  to  give  coloring  to 
the  use  of  the  word  where  such  coloring  should  find  no 
place. 

This  modified  use  of  a  word,  originally  expressive  of  such 
condition,  is  most  natural,  not  to  say  most  necessary,  and 
will  find  exem.plification  in  other  kindred  words;  especially 
in  that  word,  to  determine  the  usage  of  which  is  the  object 
of  this  inquiry. 

"A  great  wane  of  the  sea  cometh  sometyme  with  so 
great  a  violence,  that  it  drowneth  the  shyppe:  and  the  same 
harme  doth  somet^'me  the  small  dropes  of  water  that  en- 
treth  through  a  lytell  creueys,  in  to  the  tymbre  and  in  to 
the  botome  of  the  shyppe,  yf  men  be  so  ncgligente  that 
they  discharge  hem  not  by  tymes.  And,  therefore,  al- 
though there  be  a  difference  betwixt  these  two  causes  of 
drowning,  algates  the  shyppe  is  drowned.''' — Tale  of  Chaucer , 
fol.  74,  p.  2. 

This  quotation  shows  an  object  "  drowned"  that  is  desti- 

8 


114  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

tute  of  life.  No  immediate  or  special  influence  is  exerted 
over  it  by  the  condition  into  wlncli  it  is  introduced,  al- 
thougli  from  the  nature  of  the  case  it  perishes. 

It,  also,  furnishes  us  with  evidence,  that  as  long  ago  as 
Chaucer's  time  it  was  a  settled  matter  that  the  act  by 
which  the  drowning  was  brought  about  had  nothing  to  do 
with  giving  character  to  the  drowning.  It  might  be  the 
on-rushing  of  a  mountain  billow  or  tiny  drops  distilling 
through  a  "  lytell  creueys,"  "  algates"  (in  all  ways)  "  the 
shyppe  was  drowned." 


"  At  length  his  courser  plunged, 
And  threw  him  off;  the  waves  whelmed  over  him, 
And  helpless  in  his  he<avy  arms,  he  drowned." 

This  is  a  perfectly  clear  case,  in  ^yhich — (1.)  Drown  does 
not  express  either  plunge,  throw,  or  whelm, — the  acts  en- 
gaged iu  the  drowning.  (2,)  Nor  does  it  express  the  covered 
condition  by  water,  as  in  the  case  of  the  "shyppe."  Such 
condition  exists,  unquestionably;  but  it  has  been  already 
expressed  by  "  the  waves  whelmed  over  him,"  and,  there- 
fore, cannot  be  repeated  by  this  word.  (3.)  It  does  express, 
directly,  the  influence  exerted  by  such  condition  on  a  living 
man, — it  extinguishes  life. 


"These  were  events  of  such  magnitude,  it  would  seem 
to  silence  its  tongue  and  drown  its  voice." 

This  absolute  use  as  clearly  expresses  influence,  without 
any  covering  by  water  or  anything  else,  as  does  the  pre- 
ceding case  express  influence  exerted  by  the  covering 
material.  This  conclusion  is  based,  not  merely  on  the 
absence  of  any  literal  or  figurative  covering  element  in 
the  statement,  but  because  that  which  "drowns"  is  so  rep- 
resented as  to  preclude  its  being  used  for  any  such  pur- 
pose. It  is  the  '■'■magnitude  of  events"  that  "silences  and 
drowns."  The  magnitude  of  events  is  not  a  drowning 
material,  although  well  calculated  to  exert  such  power- 


BURY — DROWN — WHELM.  115 

fill  influence  (destructive  in  character)  as  "drown"  fitly 
represents. 


"  Till  droioncd  was  sense,  and  shame,  and  riglit,  and  wrong." 

"  What  is  this  absorbs  me  quite  ? 
Steals  my  senses,  shuts  my  sight, 
Droums  my  spirit,  draws  mj^  breath  ; 
Tell  me,  my  soul,  can  this  be  death?" 

In  both  these  passages  Pope  uses  "  drown"  to  express, 
directly,  a  destructive  influence.  To  introduce  an  explana- 
tory vs^ater-flood  is  to  drown  out  every  feeling  of  propriety 
and  just  criticism. 

I  will,  only,  farther  call  attention  to  the  use  of  this  word 
where  the  form  of  figure  is  used.  It  is  of  importance  to 
have  clear  and  just  views  as  to  the  principles  on  which 
such  language  is  employed,  and  the  basis  on  which  the 
interpretation  must  proceed. 


"  All  drown'd  in  sweat  the  panting  mother  flies, 
And  the  big  tears  roll  trickling  from  her  eyes." 

"Drown'd  in  sweat"  is  conceivable  as  a  literal,  physical 
fact.  "Sweat"  is  a  liquid  capable  of  drowning  a  living 
animal  covered  by  it;  and  we  can  conceive  of  it  as  being 
so  multiplied  as  to  be  suflicicnt  to  drown,  literally,  the 
hind  chased  by  a  lion,  of  which  Pope  here  speaks.  Some 
insist  on  the  most  severely  literal  interpretation  of  such 
language,  and  demand  that  the  imagination  shall  be  taxed 
to  picture  this  animal  as  lying  under  a  pool  of  "sweat" 
until  "drown'd;"  for  has  not  the  poet  said,  "drown'd  in 
sweat?" 

Most  persons  will  be  too  much  disgusted  b^  such  "  a 
picture"  to  care  to  look  long  upon  it;  so  we  turn  away 
satisfied  that  "  drowned  in"  does  not,  after  all,  mean 
covered  over  to  suflbcation  "  in  sweat." 

We  are  compelled  to  qualify  such  language  by  the  exi- 
gency of  the  case.    "  Drown"  can  only  be  used  to  express, 


116  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

with  deep  emphasisy  the  profciseness  of  the  sweating;  and 
"m"  is  used  as  the  necessary  particle  to  harmonize  with 
drown,  and  is  no  more  to  be  pressed,  on  the  ground  of  its 
meaning  in  cases  of  literal  drowning,  than  in  the  word 
(drown)  w^hich  originates  its  use.  This  particle,  here, 
merely  serves  to  point  out  that  which  "drown"  declares 
to  have  been  in  excessive  profusion,  and  all  idea  of  inness 
is  necessarily  dropped.  There  is  a  superficial  covering 
with  the  fluid. 


"  My  man  monster  hath  drowned  his  tongue  in  sack/'' 

Again;  "drowned  in  sack"  is  a  physical  possibility,  and, 
more,  has  actually  been  done.  Is  it  meant,^by  Shakspeare, 
that  this  language  should  be  understood  literally?  He 
does  not  mean  "-drowned"  in  the  sense — deprived  of  life; 
"the  tongue"  is  not  so  drowned,  lie  does  not  mean 
"drowned"  as  simply  covered  over;  such  was  neither  the 
fact  nor  to  the  writer's  purpose.  He  uses  it  to  denote  the 
destruction  of  the  power  of  speech  by  excessive  wine- 
drinking.  As  wine  is  a  liquid  and  drown  is  dostructive, 
the  loss  of  the  power  of  speech  by  drunkenness  is  well 
described  as  "a  drowning  of  the  tongue  in  sack."  "In," 
here,  being  used  simply  as  the  natural  appendage  to  drown, 
cannot  be  pressed  in  its  independent  meaning;  such  mean- 
ing is  imsuitable  here.  It  points  out  the  source  of  influ- 
ence which  so  drowned  the  tongue  by  its  intoxicating 
quality  as  to  destroy  the  power  of  intelligent  speech;  not 
the  mode  of  doing  it. 


"  And  drown\l,  without  the  furious  Ocean's  aid, 
In  suffocating  sorrows,  shares  his  tomb." 

"Drown'd  in  suflfocating  sorrows"  is,  literally,  an  im- 
possibility. Understood  as  figure,  how  is  the  language  to 
be  interpreted?  (1.)  "In,"  does  not  necessitate  the  imagin- 
ing "  sorrows"  to  be  a  pool  of  water  in  which  a  drowning 
or  a  covering  over  must  take  place,  any  more  than  the 


lURY — DROWN — WHELM.  117 

same  particle  i-^quires  that  "  tlie  hiod"  or  "  the  tongue" 
should  be  thus  introduced  within  "  sweat"  and  "  sack." 

(2.)  "Drown'd"  does  not  require  the  destruction  of  life; 
because  ^'  sorrow,"  with  which  it  is  associated,  and  the  in- 
fluence of  which  it  develops,  does  not  destroy  life  neces- 
sarily- (3.)  But  life  is,  in  this  case,  destroyed,  and  is  indi- 
cated by  " sulfocatino;"  and  'Homb."  ^'Suffocating"  is  not 
employed  with  a  view  to  its  own  proper  force  (for  it  has 
no  such  for-ce  here),  but  in  subordination  to  the  use  of 
"  drown."  We  take  out  of  ^'  suffocating"  so  much  as  is 
indicative  of  dea.th,  and  leave  the  special  mode  of  death, 
indicated  by  this  word,  go,  as  inappropriate.  In  this  we 
have  confirmation  of  the  explanation  already  given  of 
"  in."  We  take  from  this  word  so  much  as  indicates  the 
source  of  influence,  and  reject  the  form  of  inness  as  un- 
suitable to  the  case.  A  water  picture  of  drowning  is,  ex- 
pressly, rejected. 


"  In  sorrow  drown'd — but  not  in  sorrow  lost.''' 

As  "sorrow"  does  not  kill  by  its  own  nature,  "drown'd" 
becomes  restricted,  when  used  in  connection  with  it  (as  well 
as  in  all  other  Hke  cases),  to  a  development  of  its  influence 
as  excessive  and  eminently  painful. 

As  in  the  previous  case  the  appendages  showed  that  the 
drowning  was  fatal,  so,  in  this,  Young  shows  us  that  it  was 
not, — "  drowned,  but  not  lost." 


"  But  though  man,  drotv7i'd  in  sleep 
Withholds  his  homage,  not  alone  I  wake." 

If  the  mind  receives  the  impression  from  "drown'd"  of 
a  covering  fluid,  it,  at  once,  corrects  itself  as  it  encounters 
"in  sleep,"  and  says,  "I  was  mistaken;  there  is  no  refer- 
ence here  to  water,  but  to  sleep;  the  drowning  must  be 
qualifled  by  the  adjunct."  Sleep  cannot  "drown;"  but  it 
can  powerfully  influence,  and  hold  in  still  repose  every 
faculty  both  of  body  and  mind;  and  as  an  object "  drowned" 


118  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

is  held  nncler  the  iuflnence  of  water  in  the  highest  degree, 
the  phrase  "  drowned  in  sleep"  must  mean  that  the  in- 
fluence of  sleep  is  exerted  over  its  object  in  a  controlling 
degree,  but  not  by  being  put  into  a  pool.  Sleep  is  not 
measured  by  quantity  but  by  quality.  It  does  not  drown 
by  its  bulk,  but  by  its  intensity.  Therefore,  sleep  \vhich 
drowns  is  commonly  represented  as  induced  by  the  sjmnk- 
Img  of  soporific  dew.     Sprinkling  can  drown  in  slecj). 


"  The  grunting  hogs  alarm  the  neighbors  round, 
And  curs,  girls,  boys,  and  scolds,  in  the  deep  base  are  droivn'd.'" 

It  would  be  a  most  notable  figure  which  would  require 
the  transformation  of  "  the  grunting  of  a  hog"  into  a  pool 
of  water  in  which  were  exhibited — "  scolds,  boys,  girls, 
and  curs,"  struggling,  sinking,  and  drowning ! 

Pope  has  scarcely  indulged  himself  in  such  a  freak  of 
imagination. 

If  it  be  said  that  "curs,  girls,  boys,  and  scolds"  are  not 
to  be  drowned,  but  only  their  noises,  then  I  ask  for  special 
instruction  as  to  the  mode  by  which  "  noises"  are  drowned 
ill  a  iJool  of  water! 

If  any  are  better  pleased  to  understand  "  drown"  as 
representing  a  destructive  influence  proceeding  from  "the 
deep  base"  of  the  grunters  and  overpow^ering  all  lesser 
noises,  we  shall  make  no  objection. 

One  or  two  instances,  where  there  is  no  form  of  figure 
in  the  phraseology,  and  where  none  is  intended,  but  a 
direct  expression  of  influence,  without  any  water  imagery 
inducing  death  or  covering,  will  now  be  adduced. 


"  What  is  a  drunken  man  like,  fool  ? 
Like  a  drown'd  man,  a  fool,  and  a  madman: 
One  draught,  above  heat,  makes  him  a  fool ; 
The  second  mads  him,  and  a  third  drowns  him." 

Here  are  four  stages  in  the  progress  of  wine-drinking, 
as  described  by  Shakspeare  :    (1),  it  heats;    (2),  it  fools; 


BURY — DROWN — WHELM.  119 

(3),  it  mads;  (4),  it — "puts  in  a  pool  of  water"!  or  (if  pre- 
ferred), inside  of  a  full  cask  of  wine! 

Is  this  sucli  interpretation  as  befits  the  dramatist?  To 
make  this  interpretation  harmonize  witli  the  entire  pas- 
sage, "  to  heat"  should  put  the  wine-bibber  into  the  element 
up  to  the  knees;  "  to  fool"  should  place  him  in  up  to  the 
breast;  "to  mad"  should  raise  it  to  his  lips;  while  "to 
drown"  should  give  the  coup  de  grace  and  put  him  under. 
A  final  "drauglit"  might  render  a  man  '■'■dead  drunk,"  but 
coukl  hardly  (by  figure)  flood  him. 

Shakspeare  uses  "drown"  in  this  passage  without  refer- 
ence to  sufi:bcating  or  covering,  but  directly  expressing  the 
power  of  wine  to  control  and  to  stupefy  every  physical  and 
intellectual  power.  Wine  heats  literally;  fools,  literally; 
mads,  literally;  drowns,  literally;  in  the  secondary  sense, 
here  employed,  namely,  suspending  the  exercise  of  every 
faculty,  physical  and  intellectual. 


"  But,  adieu  !  these  foolish  drops 
Do  somewhat  drown  my  manly  sj^irit;  adieu!  " 

"  Somewhat"  is  not  a  proper  qualifying  term  to  apply  to 
the  extinction  of  life,  or  to  the  covering  over  with  water. 
It  is  a  very  suitable  term  to  qualify  the  exercise  of  in- 
fluence exerted  to  a  limited  degree.  Tender  emotion 
softens  the  sternness  of  a  manly  spirit;  such  emotion  is 
shovi^n  by  tears;  tears  suggest  the  use  of  "drown;"  and 
drown  is  employed  to  denote  the  destructive  influence  of 
tender  emotion,  as  manifested  by  "  foolish  drops"  upon  a 
"  manly  spirit." 

To  magnify  "  foolish  drops"  into  a  pool  of  water,  into 
which  "manly  spirit"  is  introduced  and  covered  over  until 
"  somewhat"  suflbcated,  may  aflbrd  exercise  to  an  erratic 
imagination;  but  it  is  a  work  in  wliicli  common  sense  will 
decline  to  have  any  part.  Such  usage  shows  that  drown 
has  passed  from  its  original  use  expressive  of  covering 


120  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

over  with  a  fiuicl,  and,  specifically,  extinguishing  life  by 
the  influence  of  such  co^'^aring;  as,  also,  that  it  has  laid 
aside  the  mode  of  figure  as  the  vehicle  for  the  expression 
of  its  thought,  and  does  directly  express  a  destructive 
influence  tinged  with  such  individuality  of  character  as  is 
inseparable  from  its  origin. 

In  this  varied  usage  of  drown  there  is  no  form  of  "act" 
which  appears  to  give  it  existence,  or  to  determine  its  im- 
port at  any  point  whatever. 

In  cases  of  figure,  there  is  no  justification  for  putting 
the  object  into  a  pool  of  water,  the  form  of  the  figure 
being  designed,  merely,  to  give  strong  development  to  the 
influence  of  the  adjunct;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  conceive 
the  object  as  placed  within  this  adjunct  (sometimes  im- 
practicable, and  sometimes  unsuitable),  for  the  purpose 
of  developing  its  influence,  and  this  is  thoroughly  done  by 
the  word  "drown." 

The  usage  of  this  word  shows :  (1.)  A  condition — object 
covered  by  a  fluid. 

(2.)  The  influence  exerted  over  the  object  so  covered. 

(3.)  Influence  exerted  over  an  object  without  covering, 
real  or  supposed. 

3.  To  "Whelm. — Expresses  no  form  of  act,  but  condition 
eftectcd  by  a  variety  of  acts.  This  condition  is,  like  the 
preceding,  a  covered  condition;  but  the  covering  substance 
is  more  commonly  brought  over  the  object,  and,  as  espe- 
cially characteristic,  with  a  power  which  cannot  be  suc- 
cessfully resisted.  This  peculiar  feature  adapts  this  word, 
especially,  to  mark  irresistible  influence;  and  having  no 
such  special  limitations  as  belong  to  bury  and  drown,  it  is 
adapted  to  a  much  wider  range  of  application.  As  there 
is  a  variety  of  words  which  express  covered  condition  with- 
out adaptation  to  a  broad  application,  "whelm"  has  a  less 
common  use  to  express  a  physical  covering,  and  a  much 
more  extended  application  to  metaphysical,  or  all  un- 
physical  influences  which  are  irresistible  in  their  power. 
"Whelm  and  overwhelm  do  not  difier  in  value.     The  latter 


BURY — DROWN — WHELM.  121 

simply  expresses  what  is  essentially  implied  in  tlie  former. 
Whelm  oyer-comes  hy  coming  over  irresistibly. 

"  By  the  mysgydynge  of  the  stcrysman  lie  was  set  upon 
the  pylys  of  the  brydge,  and  the  barge  ivhelmyd,  so  that  all 
were  drowned." — Fabian,  Chronicle,  1429. 


"  On  those  cursed  engines'  triple  row, 
They  saw  them  wlidmed,  and  all  their  confidence 
Under  the  weight  of  mountains  bury'd  deep." 

"  Plung'd  in  the  deep  forever  let  me  lie, 
Whelm- d  under  seas." 

These  three  passages  show  "whelm"  used  in  connection 
with  "drown'd,"  "bury'd,"  "plung'd,"  and  in  marked 
distinction  from  each  of  them.  In  the  last  "plunged"  is 
stated  to  be  "the  act"  from  which  the  whelming  results; 
and  in  every  other  case  there  is  an  act  by  which  this 
covered  condition  is  induced  Avhich  is  not  expressed  by 
whelm. 


"  The  water  is  ever  fresh  and  newe 
That  whelmdh  up,  with  wauos  bright. 
The  mountenance  of  two  fingers  hight." 

"How  must  it  groan  in  a  new  deluge  whelm'd, 
But  not  of  waters." 

"  To  whebn  some  city  under  waves  of  fire." 

"Old  Dulness  heaves  the  head, 
And  snatched  a  sheet  of  Thule  from  hcsr  bed. 
Sudden  she  flies,  and  whelms  it  o'er  the  pyre; 
Down  sink  the  flames,  and  with  a  hiss  expire." 

"  Covereth  it  by  whelming  a  bushel  over  it." 

"  Whelm  some  things  over  them  and  keep  them  there." 

The  acts  involved  in  these  transactions  are  diverse  in 
their  forms,  but  all  effect  a  covered  condition  which  over- 
comes by  its  power.     It  is,  also,  to  be  noted  that  there  is 


122  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

no  sucli  limitation  of  tliis  word  to  fluids  as  to  require  the 
interpretation  of  figurative,  or  secondary  use,  on  tlie  as- 
sumption of  sucli  primary  use. 


"Before  her  mother  Love's  bright  Queen  appears 
O' crwhchiv d  with  anguish  and  dissolved  in  tears." 

"  Those  hangings  with  their  worn  out  graces, 
Long  beards,  long  noses,  and  pale  faces, 
Are  such  an  antiquated  scene 
They  overwhelm  me  with  the  spleen." 

"  Guilty  and  guiltless  find  an  equal  fate, 
And  one  vast  ruin  wJiclm  the  Olympian  state." 

"  Some  accidental  gust  of  opposition 
O'erturns  the  fabric  of  presumptuous  reason, 
And  whelms  the  swelling  architect  beneath  it." 

"Of  grievous  inischefcs,  which  a  wicked  fay 
Had  wrought,  and  many  whelni'd  in  deadly  pain." 

«'  Joy 

Invades,  possesses,  and  overwhelms  the  soul 

Of  him  whom  Hope  has  by  a  touch  made  whole." 

"  Overwhelmed  at  once  with  wonder,  grief,  and  joy, 
He  pressed  him  much  to  quit  his  base  employ." 

"  And  moated  round  with  fathomless  destruction, 
Sure  to  receive  and  whelm  them  in  their  fall." 

"Who  perish  at  their  request,  and  luhebn'd 
Beneath  her  load  of  lavish  grants  expire." 

"At  the  first  glance,  in  such  an  overwhchn 
Of  wonderful,  on  man's  astonished  sight 
Hushes  Omnipotence." 

"  An  overwhelming  apparition.  Like  an  apparition  from 
the  grave,  you  startled  me  from  my  self-possession  and 
judgment." 

"lie  came  down  from  his  throne;  he  struggled  forward 
a  few  steps,  like  one  who  is  weak  from  some  whelming  emo- 
tion, and  laid  his  trembling  hand"  .  .  . 


BURY — DROWN — WHELM.  123 

"  To  overthrow  law  and  in  one  self-born  hour, 
To  plant  and  overwhelm  custom." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  specialties  presented 
by  these  cases.  They  show  the  broad  use  of  the  word  ap- 
plicable to  any  case  of  overcoming  influence.  Anguish 
and  joy,  wonder  and  fear,  emotion  of  any  controlling  kind 
gives  occasion  for  its  use.  A  gust  of  opposition,  mischiefs 
of  a  fay,  old  tapestry  hangings,  as  well  as  the  wonders  of 
the  infinite  firmament,  may,  equally,  whelm. 

Such  usage  makes  manifest  the  error  of  interpreting 
whelm  by  the  form  of  an  act  or  by  a  rush  of  waters. 

A  few  examples  of  the  usage  of  a  word  expressing  a 
definite  form  of  action  will  place  in  bolder  relief  the  difler- 
ence  between  such  usage  and  that  of  a  word  expressing 
not  the  form  of  an  act,  but  resultant  condition. 

Take  the  word  plunge,  which  expresses  an  act  character- 
ized by  rapidity  and  force  of  movement,  entering,  usually, 
into  a  fluid  element  without  return. 


"  He  said,  and  climbed  a  stranded  lighter's  height. 
Shot  to  the  black  abyss,  and  j^lungUl  downright. 
The  Senior's  judgment  all  the  crowd  admire, 
"Who  but  to  sink  the  deeper,  rose  the  higher. 
Next  Sracdley  div'd;  slow  circles  dimpled  o'er 
The  quaking  mud,  that  clos'd  and  op'd  no  more. 
All  look,  all  sigh,  and  call  on  Smedley  lost : 
Smedley  in  vain  resounds  through  all  the  coast. 
Then  *  essay'd ;  scarce  vanished  out  of  sight. 
He  buoys  uji  instant,  and  returns  to  light." 

Dunciad,  285-29G. 

The  annotator  on  Smedley's  case  remarks:  "  The  alle- 
gory evidently  demands  a  person  dipped  in  scandal,  and 
deeply  immersed  in  dirty  work." 

His  comment  on  the  person  denoted  by  "  *"  is,  "A  gen- 
tleman of  genius  and  spirit  who  has  secretly  dipt  in  some 
papers  of  this  kind." 

This  whole  passage  is  one  of  honest  figure.  In  true 
picture  figure  there  is  no  change  in  the  meaning  of  words 
employed,  and,  therefore,  we  can  learn,  here,  the  meaning 


124  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

of  "plunge,"  and  other  words,  as  well  as  if  an  actual 
trausaction  was  recounted.  The  passage  is  of  special  in- 
terest, as  it  presents,  not  only  the  characteristic  use  and 
meaning  of  "plunge,"  but,  also,  of  sink,  dip^  and  immerse. 

"  Plunge"  here,  as  elsewhere,  expresses  an  act  charac- 
terized by  rapid  and  forcible  movement  entering  into  a 
fluid  element  without  return. 

"Dive"  expresses  an  act  with  similar  characteristics  with 
the  peculiarity  of  entering  the  element  head  foremost. 

"  Sink"  expresses  an  act  characterized  by  a  downward 
movement  without  return. 

"  Dip"  is  not  found,  verbally,  in  the  text;  but  its  nature, 
as  an  act,  is  very  graphically  described — "  Scarce  vanished 
out  of  sight,  he  buoys  up  instant  and  returns  to  light." 
Unlike  plunge,  dive,  sink,  dip  makes  provision  for  the 
return  of  its  object  out  of  the  element  into  which  it  has 
been  introduced.  By  this  characteristic  it  is  radically 
separated  from  these  and  all  like  words  which  carry  their 
object  into  an  element  but  do  not  bring  it  out.  The 
secondary  usage  of  these  words  is  controlled  by,  and  made 
wholly  diverse  in  conception  by  reason  of,  this  distinguish- 
ing feature. 

The  commentator  on  the  text  uses  the  word  dip,  but  not 
in  its  primary  meaning.  "  Who  was  secretly  dipt  in  some 
papers  of  this  kind."  Here  "  dipt"  cannot  be  used  in 
figure,  properly  speaking;  for  in  figure  the  primary  mean- 
ing remains  unchanged,  while  dipping  into  papers  is  an 
impossible  conception  and  cannot  be  employed  as  a  figure. 
"We  are  necessitated  to  give  to  it  a  seconcj^ry  meaning, 
namely,  "s%/i%  engaged"  in.  This  is  an  obvious  second- 
ary meaning,  resulting  from  the  primary,  literal,  entering 
slightly  into  a  fluid.  "  In  papers,"  as  already  stated,  does 
not  require  inncss  of  position,  but  is  used  to  be  in  harmony 
with  dip,  and  with  that  word  modified  must  not  be  pressed 
upon.  But  dip  is,  also,  used  by  the  annotator  in  a  quite 
difi'crent  sense;  "  dipped  in  scandal"  is  phraseology  based 
on  the  idea  of  dyeing,  and  "scandal"  is  represented  as  a 
dyeing  material.     "Dip"  may,  therefore,  be  taken  as  ex- 


MEANING    MOUE   FULLY    STATED.  125 

pressing  diFectly  to  dye,  ov,  indirectly,  as  the  result  of  dip- 
ping into  a  coloring  element,  represented  in  the  text  by 
"quaking  mnd,"  and  in  the  note  by  "scandal."  To  dip 
wets,  dyes,  stains,  defies,  according  to  circumstances.  "Im- 
mersed in  dirty  work"  harmonizes,  as  to  strength  (while 
diftering  in  conception),  with  "dipped  in  scandal;"  the 
unity  arising  from  the  power  which  is  in  "scandal"  to 
effect  a  strong  and  abiding  influence ;  it  is  the  very  oppo- 
site, as  to  strength,  from  "dipt  in  some  papers."  There 
is  nothing  in  "  papers"  to  give  any  adventitious  power  to 
the  essential  feebleness  which  belongs  to  "  dip,"  while 
"immerse"  literally  denotes  completeness  of  intusposition, 
and  in  secondar}^  use  complete,  controlling  influence,  or 
thorough  in  contradistinction  from  superjicicd  cngagcdness. 

It  is  seldom  that  we  have  so  many  of  these  words 
brought  together  with  their  peculiarities  and  modifica- 
tions so  sharply  defined.  Plunge,  dive,  sink,  dip,  express 
slltirply  defined  acls,  with  clear^,  distinguishing  difterences, 
separating  each  from  each,  but  especially  dip  from  all  the 
others.  Immerse  expresses  no  such  act,  but  condition  of 
intusposition  the  result  of  any  comnctent  act. 


"Profounder  in  the  fathomless  abyss 
Of  folly,  j)lunging-  in  pursuit  of  death.' ' 

"  So  from  the  king  the  shining  warrior  flies, 
And phcnff'd  amidst  the  thickest  Trojans  lies." 

"If  glorious  deeds  afford  thy  soul  delight, 
Behold  wiQ  plunging  in  the  thickest  %ht." 

"  Ov  plung'd  in  lakes  of  bitter  washes  lie, 
Or  wedged  whole  ages  in  a  bodkin's  eye." 

"O  conscience  1  into  what  abyss  of  fears 
And  horrors  hast  thou  driv'n  me  ?  out  of  which 
I  find  no  way;  from  deep  to  do^iTper 2]licng' d." 

It  is  obvious,  without  multiplying  cpiotations,  that  the 
word  maintains  in  metaphorical  use  its  peculiarities  as  an 
act,  expressing  something  which  is  done  in  a  manner  which 


126  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

demands  a  descriptive  term  denotive  of  earnestness  and 
force.  It  expresses  an  act  defined  by  certain  character- 
istics in  opposition  to  a  condition. 

It  is  to  the  class  of  words  represented  by  hury,  drown, 
and  ivhclm  that  [iaKziZio  belongs;  while  fid-ru)  belongs  to 
that  other  class  which  is  represented  by  plunge,  dive,  sink, 
dip,  but  specilically  agrees  with  dip  in  bringing  its  object 
out  of  the  element  into  which  it  has  briefly  and  super- 
ficially introduced  it. 

MEANING  MOKE  FULLY  STATED. 

Having  exemplified  the  important  point  by  which  words 
demanding  a  condition  to  be  secured,  and  a  definite  act 
to  be  performed,  are  distinguished  from  each  other;  and 
placed  the  word  in  question  in  the  former  class ;  I  now 
proceed  to  unfold  its  meaning  more  fully. 

1.  The  following  points  are  essential  fo  a  proper  under- 
standing of  the  meaning  of  /Sa-rjtw.  (1.)  Its  import  is  in 
nowise  governed  by,  or  dependent  upon,  any  form  of  act. 
(2.)  Its  import  is  vitally  dependent  upon,  and  governed  by, 
the  idea  of  intusposition  within  a  closely  investing  element. 
(3.)  Its  import  is  as  vitally  connected  with  a  continuance 
within  the  element  for  an  indefinitely  protracted  period 
of  time.  It  can  never  be  used  to  express  a  mere  super- 
ficial entrance  and  a  designedly  momentary  continuance. 
This  would  wholly  change  its  character,  removing  it  from 
its  own  proper  sphere,  and  make  it  a  usurper  of  that  of 

Pdnru). 

It  is  proper,  here,  in  view  of  the  distinction  made  and 
the  importance  attached  to  the  difference  between  condi- 
tion and  act,  to  recall  the  language  of  Gale  on  this  i:)oint : 
"  The  word,  perhaps,  does  not  so  necessarily  express  the 
action  of  putting  under  water,  as  in  general  a  thing's 
being  in  that  condition,  no  matter  how  it  comes  so,  whether 
it  is  put  into  the  water  or  the  water  comes  over  it." 

Dr.  Carson,  as  we  have  seen,  does,  very  earnestly,  reject 
this  statement  as  inconsistent  with  Baptist  sentiments.  Dr. 


MEANING   MORE   FULLY   STATED.  127 

Conant,  however,  seems  to  agree,  substantially,  with  Gale, 
when  he  says,  that  it  is  not  in  their  peculiarity  that  im- 
merse, or  immerge,  or  submerge,  or  dip,  or  plunge,  or 
bathe,  or  whelm,  represents  iSa-riZw;  but  by  reason  of  some 
"  common  ground  element,"  Avhich  can  only  be  condition. 

On  the  statement  of  Gale,  Dr.  Ilalley  remarks:  "Had 
he  said  '  coming  into  that  condition'  instead  of  '  being  in 
that  condition,'  he  would  have  exactly  expressed  our  mean- 
hig." 

Prof.  Wilson  says:  "Dr.  Gale  rowed  hard  to  bring 
modal  exclusiveness  to  land;  but  finding  it  a  troublesome 
passenger,  amid  the  storm  of  theologii;al  controversy,  he 
adopted  the  more  prudent  course  of  throwing  it  over- 
board." He  adds:  "Our  general  statement  is,  that  the 
verb  fia-Tt'Ciu,  unlike  f:id--co  in  its  primary  sense,  is  not  tied 
to  any  exclusive  mode,  but  embraces  a  wider  range,  and 
admits  of  greater  latitude  of  sign  ill  cation.  Let  the  bap- 
tizing element  encompass  its  object,  and  in  the  case  of 
liquids,  wdiether  this  relative  state  has  been  produced  by 
immersion  or  by  aifusion,  or  by  overwhelming,  or  in  any 
other  mode,  Greek  usage  recognizes  it  as  valid  baptism." 

Such  testimonies  give  emphasis  to  the  position  assumed 
as  fundamental  to  the  interpretation  of  this  word,  and 
challenge  for  it  a  favorable  consideration.  All  idea  that  a 
definite  act  is  demanded  by  the  primary,  literal  use,  and 
all  idea  that  the  metaphorical  or  secondary  use  is  in  any- 
wise based  on  such  act,  must  be  abandoned. 

2.  The  idea  of  intusposition — inness — necessarily  carries 
with  it  that  of  completeness.  An  object  baptized  is  com- 
pletely invested  by  the  baptizing  element,  whatever  it  may 
be.  In  some  cases  (much  the  fewer,  however,  in  number), 
the  thought  may  rest  here.  When  a  stone,  a  pole,  the  sea 
shore,  is  said  to  be  baptized,  the  nature  of  the  object  natu- 
rally arrests  the  conception,  and  bounds  it  with  the  simple 
investiture. 

In  most  cases  the  baptism  of  an  object  carries  with  it 
more  than  the  complete  intusposition.  Comparatively  few 
objects  can  be  wholly  enveloped  by  a  fluid,  semi-fluid,  or 


128  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

other  snhstanee,  without  experiencing  a  veiy  special  and 
very  thorongh  influence  as  consequent  upon  such  position. 
Place  a  "ship"  in  snch  position,  and  it  perishes ;  place  a 
"bag  of  salt"  in  snch  position,  and  it  dissolves;  place  a 
human  being  in  such  position,  and  he  drowns. 

It  is  obvious  that  influence,  of  the  most  thorough  char- 
acter, is  inseparable  from  the  idea  of  baptism,  in  most 
cases  which  are  physical  in  their  nature. 

Controlling  influence  being  established  as -the  ordinary 
attendant  upon  such  envelopment;  and  such  influence,  in 
one  form  or  another,  being  developed  every  day  in  the  out- 
working of  life,  where  there  is  no  physical  envelopment, 
it  follows,  rationall}^,  if  not  necessarily,  that  the  exigencies 
of  language  would  lay  hold  of  the  term  with  whose  phys- 
ical use  such  idea  was  associated,  and  apply  it,  indifter- 
ently,  to  all  cases  where  controlling  influence  was  opera- 
tive, wholly  regardless  of  the  absence  of  a  physically 
investing  element,  the  original  form  and  means  whereby 
such  influence  was  developed.  It  is  purely  gratuitoiis  to 
say  that  this  must  always  be  done  by  formal  figure,  or  that 
there  must  be  an  imaginary,  shadowy  something  moulded 
after  the  original  style  of  encompassing  waters  to  serve  as 
a  substitute  for  it,  when  not  actually  present.  It  is  abun- 
dantly sufiicient  to  recognize  the  original  source  and 
ground  of  the  usage,  and  then  freely  and  directly  to  em- 
ploy the  term  as  expressive  of  controlling  influence,  how- 
ever, and  by  whatsoever,  exerted. 

But  we  may  go,  we  must  go  to  meet  the  facts  of  the  case, 
yet  one  step  farther.  When  a  word  of  a  general  character 
has  been  employed  very  often,  and  through  a  long  time, 
to  express  a  controlling  influence  of  a  particular  kind,  it 
may  come  to  have  a  specific  meaning  characterized  by 
such  special  influence.  Drowning  is  the  result  of  the  in- 
fluence of  encompassing  waters  fully  exerted  upon  a  living 
man;  to  express  such  envelopment  /JaTrrCw  was  employed; 
the  cases  for  such  application  would  be  frequently  occur- 
ring, and  would  be  perpetuated  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration; it  would,  therefore,  necessarily  follow  that  this 


REPRESENTATIVE   WORD.  129 

word,  sooner  or  later,  would  be  understood  as  expressing 
not  merely  the  fact  of  envelopment,  but,  directly,  the  con- 
dition resultant  from  it,  namely,  the  drowning. 

By  a  similar  process — mutatis  mutandis — it  might  come  to 
express,  directly,  the  peculiarity  of  influence  exerted  by  in- 
toxicating liquors  when  drank  to  excess,  viz.,  to  make  drunk. 

3.  These  things  being  so,  there  is  an  absolute  barrier  to 
any  connection  ever  being  established  between  ySa-rt'Cw  and 
dip.  Neither  in  primary,  nor  in  secondary  use,  can  these 
words  ever  come  in  contact.  And,  indeed,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  no  two  words  in  the  Greek  language  are  kept  more 
distinctly  and  uniformly  separate  in  their  usage  than  are 

^aizriZo}  and  ^dnru). 

KEPKESENTATIVE  WOKD. 

It  is  necessary  not  only  that  the  meaning  of  a  word 
should  be  described,  but  that  such  description  should  be 
embodied  in  some  representative  word. 

It  has  been  already  seen  that  Baptist  writers  have  en- 
tirely failed  to  furnish  us  with  such  a  word.  The  failure, 
however,  has  not  been  because  no  attempt  was  made  to 
meet  the  demand.  Now,  one  word  has  been  announced 
as  having  the  precise  form  and  force  required;  and,  then, 
another  word,  essentially  difiering  in  form  and  force,  has 
been  declared  to  be  just  what  was  demanded;  and  yet, 
again,  a  third  word  has  been  brought  forward,  radically 
difiering  from  both  of  these,  as,  unquestionably,  the  right 
one.  Such  failure,  so  manifest  and  so  often  repeated, 
constrains  us  to  doubt,  not  the  scholarship  (Greek  or  Eng- 
lish) of  these  writers,  but  the  existence  of  any  word  in  the 
English  language  which  fully  represents  the  broad  and 
varied  usage  of  the  Greek  word.  This  we  shall  consider, 
until  better  informed,  to  be  incontrovertible  truth. 

Take  up  what  word  you  will,  in  use  with  us,  and  employ 
it  as  the  substitute  for  the  Greek  word,  and  you  will  very 
soon  find  it  running  out.  Try  a  second,  and  it,  speedily, 
meets  the  same  fate.  Try  a  third,  and  it  has  no  better 
issue. 

9 


130  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  becomes  a  necessary  ques- 
tion— whether  we  shall  adopt  several  words  to  express  the 
modifications  of  meaning,  or  whether  we  shall  adopt  some 
one  word,  as  near  as  may  be  to  the  fundamental  idea  of 
the  original,  and  carry  it  throughout  the  entire  range  of 
Greek  usage  without  regard  to  the  existence,  or  otherwise, 
of  a  corresponding  English  usage.  Both  these  courses 
of  procedure  present  advantages. 

The  use  of  one  word,  invariably,  for  the  translation  of 
the  same  word,  commends  itself,  especially  in  controversy, 
as  fit  and  obligatory,  unless  there  be  imperative  reasons  to 
the  contrary.  The  English  reader  sees,  by  this  course, 
much  more  satisfactorily  what  is  Greek  usage,  and,  also, 
in  what  measure,  and  at  what  points,  it  becomes  divergent 
from  English  usage.  He  is,  also,  at  liberty  to  substitute, 
at  his  own  option,  other  words,  according  as  he  feels  the 
necessity,  without  the  bewildering,  and  oftentimes  mis- 
leading, translations  of  the  controversialist. 

On  the  other  hand,  failing  to  find  one  word  which  moves 
on,  imri  passu,  with  l^anrO^u),  throughout  its  entire  range, 
if  we  can  find  a  word  which  naturally,  or  by  definition, 
accurately  expresses  one  form  of  usage,  while  another 
word  may  be  found  which  accomplishes  the  same  for  an- 
other form  of  usage,  there  would  be  an  advantage  in  so 
doing  for  many  readers  who  might  feel  embarrassed  in 
making  a  satisfactory  selection  for  themselves. 

If  we  could  find  a  word  which  was  not  invested  with 
embarrassing  circumstances,  arising  out  of  its  already 
established  usage,  we  should  be  placed  on  vantage  ground. 
To  find  such  word  is  ditficult,  if  not  impracticable. 

To  drown,  is  in  some  respects  quite  a  favorable  repre- 
sentative word. 

It  is  so,  because:  1.  It  expresses  the  entire  envelopment 
of  an  object  by  a  fluid  element.  2.  It  expresses  the  in- 
fluence exerted  over  an  object  by  such  envelopment.  This 
is  its  special  use.  3.  It  expresses  influence  where  there  is 
no  enveloping  element.  4.  It  expresses,  specifically,  the 
influence  of  intoxicating  liquors  when  drank  to  great  ex- 


REPRESENTATIVE   WORD.  131 

cess.  5.  It  has  no  dependence  on  any  form  of  act.  6.  It 
expresses  no  limitation  as  to  the  continuance  of  the  state 
induced. 

In  these  particuhirs  are  embraced  all  the  elements  which 
enter  into  the  usage  of  /?a-~!C«>;  but  in  translating  "to 
drown,"  we  should,  assuredly  be  embarrassed  by  the 
greatly  predominant  meaning — to  destroy  life  by  suffoca- 
tion under  water.  Nevertheless  it  is  of  importance  to 
state,  distinctl}',  that  this  Greek  word  is  fairly,  though 
inadequately,  represented  by  drown. 

To  luhdm  presents  some  special  claim  for  consideration. 

1.  It  envelops.  2.  It  influences  by  envelopment.  3.  It 
influences  without  envelopment.  4.  It  is  not  limited  by 
form  of  act.     5.  It  is  without  limit  of  time. 

Its  special  claim  lies  in  its  usage  under  the  third  par- 
ticular. "Whelm  (and  overwhelm,  the  same  word  empha- 
sized) has  a  secondary  usage  giving  expression  to  fully 
developed  and  controlling  influence,  which,  by  its  nature 
and  breadth,  represents  the  Greek  word  better,  perhaps, 
in  its  like  usage,  than  any  other  English  word.  Its  de- 
fl.ciency  consists  in  the  predominant  thought  of  the  liquid 
sweeping  over  its  object  with  force.  Such  specialty  is  not 
in  the  Greek  word.  This,  however,  largely,  if  not  wholly, 
disappears  in  secondary  use,  leaving  only  the  grand  idea 
of  controlling  influence. 

To  merse  has  just  and  strong  representative  claims  within 
certain  limits. 

"  Im-merse"  is  peremptorily  excluded  :  1.  Because  com- 
pounded with  a  preposition,  which  the  original  word  is  not, 
and  for  which  there  is  no  conceivable  nccessitj'.  2.  Be- 
cause im-merse  is  the  proper  translation  of  sfi-jSaizzi^ico,  and 
which  should  (if  zm-merse  is  the  translation  of  the  uncom- 
pounded  word)  be  translated  m-im.merse.  3.  Because  the 
preposition  has  been  abused  and  misinterpreted,  as  indica- 
tive of  movement,  while  its  force  was  merely  local,  as  a 
proper  examination,  both  of  Latin  and  English  usage,  will 
fully  establish. 

In  all  cases  where  the  simple  envelopment  of  the  object, 


132  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

only,  is  concerned,  no  word,  probably,  is  more  unexcep- 
tionable than  7/ierse. 

1.  This  word  is  of  comroon  use  in  cases  where  an  object 
is  placed  in  a  fluid,  semi-flnidy  or  any  easily  penetrable  ma- 
terial. 2.  It  depends  upon  no  form  of  act.  3.  It  is  with- 
out limit  of  duration. 

But  where  the  design  is  to  express  influence,  whether 
as  a  consequence  of  envelopment,  or  controlling  influence 
without  envelopment,  this  word,  markedly,  fails.  Such 
usage  is  a  leading  feature  in  the  Greek  word,  claiming 
special  attention,  and  demanding  expression. 

The  secondary  use  of  merge  (or  immerse)  does  not  cor- 
respond with  that  of  ^ar.rc'^w.  "I  am  mersed  in  study," 
and  "  I  am  baptized  by  study/'  are  phrases  expressive  of 
very  different  ideas.  The  former  expresses  thorough  intel- 
lectual engagedncss ;  the  latter  expresses  thorough  intellectual 
j>rostration. 

Steep  approaches  toward  the  idea,  yet  falls  essentially 
short  of  it.  To  be  steeped  in  any  influence  is  to  be  thor- 
oughly interpenetrated  by  it,  yet  so  that  the  influence 
remains  under  our  control;  to  be  baptized  by  any  in- 
fluence, is  for  us  to  be  thoroughly  under  its  control. 

Whelm  expresses  this  additional  idea^  and  it  is  the  only 
word,  that  I  think  of,  which  does  do  so  in  so  satisfactory 
a  manner. 

In  the  first  examination  of  this  question,  "  merse"  was 
carried  through  every  case  of  the  usage  of  the  Greek 
word;  but  in  doing  so  the  necessity  arises  for  the  origina- 
tion of  usage  unknown  to  our  language.  This  is  embar- 
rassing. Unity  of  word  and  clearness  of  thought  cannot 
be  combined.  It  may  be  better  (though  we  cannot  but 
greatly  regret  the  necessity)  to  sacnfice  verbal  unity  to  a 
clear  statement  of  the  thought. 

Merse  (immerse)  fails  to  represent  the  Greek  word  in 
another  particular,  namely,  its  absolute  use. 

When  it  is  said  of  a  man,  absolutely,  that  he  was  "  bap- 
tized," meaning  that  he  was  droioned,  we  have  no  corre- 
sponding use  of  mersed  (immersed).     When  it  is  said,  in 


REPRESENTATIVE   WORD.  133 

like  absolute  use,  lie  was  "  baptized,"  meaning  stupefied  by 
an  opiate;  or  "baptized,"  bewildered  by  questions;  or  "bap- 
tized," intoxicated;  or  "  baptized,"  purified;  we  have  no 
like  usage  of  merse  (immerse). 

The  fitness  of  merse  (immerse)  to  represent  /Sa-ritw  is 
good  within  certain  limits;  but  those  limits  are  decidedly 
restricted,  unless  the  mind  be  educated  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  unfamiliar  combinations. 

To  inn  is  a  word  of  our  language,  although  of  infrequent 
and  restricted  use.  Its  radical  idea  of  inness  afibrds  the 
essential  idea  requisite  to  develop  a  usage  which  would 
faithfully  represent  this  Greek  word.  The  usage  would 
have  to  be  formed  out  of  this  radical  idea,  for  it  has  no 
present  existence;  but  this  is,  measurably,  true  of  every 
other  word.  The  advantage  would  be,  that  we  should  not 
have  to  unlearn  old  and  unsuitable  ideas.  In  some  cases, 
this  word  (because  so  much  unused)  would  bring  with  it 
less  clog  to  embarrass  the  thought  than  any  other,  more 
familiar,  word. 

The  idea  of  inness,  and  of  inness  expressive  of  influence, 
is  one  of  greatest  familiarity  to  our  language.  If  this 
thought  were  embodied  in  the  verb  to  inn,  and  applied  as 
the  sole  representative  of  the  Greek  word  throughout  the 
entire  range  of  its  usage,  it  would  be  as  little  liable  to 
exception  as  any  other  one  word,  while  it  would  have,  in 
some  cases,  special  advantage. 

I  make  this  suggestion  not  with  any  design  to  adopt  it 
as  a  translation,  but  that  it  may  serve,  as  a  truth  laid  up, 
to  get  rid  of  some  of  the  false  notions  which  have  gathered 
around  this  debated  word,  by  reason  of  the  use  of  a  certain 
set  of  terms  as  representative  words. 

To  steep. — Steep  and  dip,  in  their  relation  to  each  other, 
and  in  their  distinctive  usage,  illustrate,  very  forcibly,  the 
two  Greek  words.  Like  them,  steep  and  dip  come  from 
the  same  root;  and,  like  them,  each  has  a  deeply  marked 
individuality.  Dip  represents  ^dizru),  steep  represents  /3a7r- 
Ti^u).  Steep  expresses  no  definite  act ;  it  does  express  en- 
velopment by  a  fluid;  envelopment,  for  the  sake  of  influ- 


134  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

ence;  pervading  influence  without  envelopment;  and  has 
no  limitation  of  time.  Dip  and  steep  present  strong  claims 
to  a  front  place  as  the  English  representatives  of  l3d7ZTw  and 
^aTZTiZui.  If,  however,  Ave  had  a  verb  to  deep,  then,  to  dip 
and  to  deep  would  exhibit  the  fundamentally  distinguish- 
ing characteristic,  and  could  well  serve  as  duplicates  of 
these  foreign  words. 

To  baptize. — After  a  thoughtful  consideration  of  every, 
apparently,  appropriate  word,  I  am  induced  to  believe  that 
it  would  be  well  to  employ  baptize  to  represent  the  second- 
ary use,  defining  it  as  expressing  controlling  influence;  the 
particular  nature  of  the  influence  being  determined  by  the 
specialty  of  the  case.  We  would  be  less  embarrassed,  in 
the  use  of  this  word,  with  previous  and  irrelevant  con- 
ceptions, and  the  mind  would  be  left  more  untrammelled 
in  its  effort  to  extract  the  thought  presented. 

After  all,  however,  has  been  said  as  to  the  advantages 
and  disadvantages  in  the  use  of  particular  words,  there 
may  be  controversial  considerations  which  will  outweigh 
all  others,  and  determine  it  to  be  best  to  use  a  single  word, 
to  represent  the  single  Greek  word,  throughout  the  whole 
extent  and  under  all  the  modifications  of  its  meaning. 
The  best  word,  probably,  all  things  considered,  is  Merse. 
The  statements  already  made  will  show  that  this  word 
is  not  without  its  imperfections,  while  they  may  help  to 
relieve  them.  Nor  is  it  without  advantage  that  the  word, 
in  this  uncompounded  form,  has  no  common  use.  We 
shall  find,  on  this  account,  greater  facility  in  associating 
with  it  any  modification  of  thought,  desirable,  above  what 
■would  be  the  case  with  m-merse. 

By  such  use  of  this  word  our  Baptist  friends  will  be 
deprived  of  all  possible  ground  of  complaint,  while  we 
shall  show  our  unbounded  confidence  that  the  sentiment 
of  passages  adduced  will  be  sufficiently  clear  and  power- 
ful to  correct,  and  to  control,  any  water  tendencies  which 
may  pertain  to  the  word,  from  more  familiar  usage,  in  that 
direction. 


DEFINITION.  135 


DEFINITION. 

Defining — to  merse,  to  droivn,  to  whelm,  to  steep,  to  inn, 
in  primary  use,  as  causative  of  the  condition  of  an  object 
within  a  closely  investing  element,  without  any  limitation 
as  to  the  character  of  the  act  inducing  such  envelopment, 
and  without  any  limitation  as  to  the  time  of  its  continu- 
ance : 

And  defining — to  merse,  to  whelm,,  to  steep,  to  baptize,  in 
secondary  use,  as  causative  of  a  condition  induced  by  a 
controlling  influence  unlimited  as  to  source,  form,  or  du- 
ration : 

I  would  define  /Sarrrttw  to  mean,  primarily, 

1.  To  INTUSPOSE:  to  merse,  to  drown,  to  whelm,  to  steep 
to  inn ;  and,  by  appropriation,  to  svJJ'ocate  witJdn  a  Jluid 
(to  drown). 

2.  To    INFLUENCE    CONTROLLINGLT :    tO    mCrSC,    tO    whclm, 

to  steep,  to  inn,  to  baptize;  and,  by  appropriation,  to 
intoxicate. 

In  this  secondary  use,  the  word,  or  an  organic  phrase, 
or  the  word  as  embodying  such  phrase,  may  be  translated 
with  the  utmost  fidelity — to  stupefy,  to  bewilder,  to  pollute,  to 
purify,  &c.,  &c. 

Each  of  these  words  expresses  a  condition  induced  by 
some  controlling  influence.  The  nature  of  the  influence  is 
a  matter  of  as  absolute  indiflerence  as  is  the  means  and 
mode  by  which  it  is  produced.  One  drop  of  prussic  acid 
is  as  thoroughly  competent  to  effect  a  baptism,  secondary, 
(perhaps  the  more  common  form  of  baptism  expressed  by 
the  Greeks),  as  is  an  ocean  to  effect  a  baptism,  primary. 

The  meaning  thus  assigned  to  /Sa^rrt'Cw  must  be  sustained 
by  an  appeal  to  the  facts  of  usage. 

Every  passage  of  what  may  be  termed  Classical  Greek 
(liberally  interpreted),  which  I  have  met  with,  either  as 
the  fruit  of  my  own  direct  examination,  or  that  of  others, 
has  been  adduced.  The  period  embraced  within  these 
quotations  is  about  a  thousand  years.     There  will,  there- 


136  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

fore,  be  the  fullest  opportunity  for  the  usus  loquendi  to  give 
its  autlioritative  utterance. 

If  any  one,  after  seeing  the  usage  of  the  two  Greek  words 
side  by  side,  can  hesitate  to  acknowledge  that  they  are 
radically  different  in  meaning,  as  radically  different  in 
reference  to  the  act  of  dipping  as  in  reference  to  effecting 
a  dyed  condition,  I  shall  be  greatly  surprised. 

If  the  conclusion  reached  should  meet  with  general  as- 
sent, then  the  bands  by  which  dipping  and  baptizing  have 
been  so  long  bound  together  must  be  pronounced  to  be 
unlawful,  and  pri)clamation  made  that  there  are.  insur- 
mountable impediments  which  forever  forbid  that  these 
"twain  should  be  made  one." 

What  farther  bearing  this  meaning,  assigned  to  ^aizriZu), 
has  upon  Christian  baptism,  will  be  seen  when  that  subject 
shall  come  before  us  for  consideration.  It  will  not,  at  pres- 
ent, be  introduced  into  the  discussion. 


MEANING  AND    USAGE.  137 


BAlim. 
ITS   MEANING  AND   USAGE. 

It  will  facilitate  our  ultimate  purpose  to  consider  first, 
the  usage  of  /Ja^rrw,  and  other  words  whose  meanings  are 
designed  to  elucidate,  by  agreement  or  disagreement,  the 
meaning  of  ^aTzziX.w. 

It  has  been  contidently  affirmed  that  /ScfTrrw  has  but  the 
two  meanings  to  dip  and  to  dye.  Usage  will  show  that  this 
latter  position  is  as  untenable  as  the  earlier  one  which 
denied  that  it  had  more  than  one  meaning — to  dip.  But  it 
is  unnecessary,  here,  to  particularize;  the  quotations  will 
speak  for  themselves. 

We  have  a  right,  however,  to  note  all  such  errors,  as 
justly  enfeebling  our  faith  in  other  conclusions  which  we 
are  called  upon  to  accept.  The  commission  of  frequent, 
and  manifest  errors,  should  induce  some  hesitancy  in 
affirming  that  "  it  is  not  so  much  evidence  that  is  wanted 
as  Christian  honesty"  to  cause  the  acceptance  of  such 
positions  as  are,  still,  zealously  pressed  by  our  Baptist 
brethren. 

To  dip  has  been  placed  first  in  order  among  the  mean- 
ings of  jSdnTw',  but  whether  dip  or  dye  be  regarded  as  the 
primary  meaning,  the  meaning  is  dip  and  not  plunge,  or 
sink,  or  any  other  word  whose  meaning  characteristically 
differs  from  dip.  By  "  dip"  is  meant  a  downward  move- 
ment, without  violence,  passing  out  of  one  medium  into 
another,  to  a  limited  extent,  and  returning  without  delay. 
Plunge  differs  essentially  from  this  word  in  that  it  demands 
rapidity  and  force  of  movement;  and,  more  especially,  in 
that  it  makes  no  demand  for  a  return.  In  critical,  or  con- 
troversial writing  no  word  can,  fairly,  be  substituted  for 
dip,  which  has  characteristics  alien  from  and  contradictory 
to  its  nature.  I  know  of  no  instance,  where  jSaTrzcu  is  used 
to  put  an  object  into  a  fluid  to  remain  there  permanently, 


138  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

or  for  an  unlimited  time.  Nor  do  I  know  of  any  instance, 
where  this  word  is  used  to  draw  up  anything  out  of  a 
liquid  which  it  had  not  first  put  into  it. 

Dr.  Carson  gives  more  than  fifty  quotations  from  Hip- 
pocrates, in  which,  he  says,  "  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
we  shall  find  the  characteristic  meaning  of  Bapto."  In 
all  these  cases  there  is  the  double  movement  of  intrance 
and  outrance.  Whether  this  twofold  movement  be  the 
result  of  the  explicit  demand  of  the  word,  or  consequen- 
tial on  that  which  is  immediately  expressed,  the  result  is 
the  same;  both  find  place  in  the  "characteristic''  use  of 
the  word. 

To  dye  is  now  acknowledged  to  be  a  secondary  meaning 
without  any,  necessary,  dependence  upon  dipping.  This 
doctrine  was  long  and  strenuously  opposed  by  Baptist 
writers,  who  contended,  then,  that  ^dr.-zio  had  but  one 
meaning,  as,  now,  they  contend  that  [la-zi'^u}  has  but  one 
meaning ;  and  that  dyeing  was  a  mere  appendage  to  dip- 
ping, and  an  accident  consequent  upon  a  dipping  into  a 
coloring  element.  This  position  is,  at  length,  thoroughly 
abandoned,  and  the  admission  made  that  dyeing  by  sprink- 
ling is  as  orthodox  as  dyeing  by  dipping.  In  other  words, 
it  is  now,  however  slowly,  yet  at  last  unreservedly  admit- 
ted, that  wdiile  (idnToj  to  dip  expresses  a  sharply  defined  act; 
/Sdrrw  to  dye  expresses  no  such  act;  but  drops  all  demand  for 
any  form  of  act,  and  makes  requisition  only  for  a  condition  or 
quality  of  color,  satisfied  with  any  act  which  will  meet  this 
requirement.  This  being  true;  it  is  obvious  that  the  differ- 
ence between  dip  and  dye,  and  dip  and  plunge,  is  not  a 
difference  of  measure  and  form,  but  a  difference  of  nature. 
Dip  and  plunge  express  forms  of  act  to  be  done;  dye  ex- 
presses a  condition  or  quality  to  be  secured.  Thus  we 
secure  a  stepping-stone  toward  that  truth  which  we  would 
establish ;  to  wit,  that  /Sa-rt'^,  unlike  /5arrw  to  dip,  but  like 
^dTZTOj  to  dye,  does  express  not  a  form  of  act,  but  a  condition — 
condition  of  intusposition,  primarily,  and  condition  of 
controlling  influence,  secondarily.  Bd-roj,  in  one  of  its 
aspects,  demands  a  movement  which  carries  its  object, 


MEANING    ESTABLISHED    BY   USAGE.  139 

momentarily,  within  a  fluid  element;  and  in  another  of 
its  aspects,  demands  a  condition  which  is  met  by  flowing, 
pouring,  or  sprinkling:  (Sa-TtW,  in  one  of  its  aspects,  de- 
mands a  condition  which  may  be  effected  by  flowing, 
pouring,  or  sprinkling;  and  in  another  of  its  aspects,  de- 
mands a  condition  which  may  be  effected  by  anything,  in 
any  way,  which  is  competent  to  exercise  a  controlling  in- 
fluence over  its  object. 

The  two  leading  meanings,  to  dip,  to  d^e,  have,  severally, 
modifications  in  usage  which,  as  they  shall  be  developed, 
will  show  .that  the  refusal  to  accept  of  any  farther  modi- 
fication, in  the  meaning  of  this  Greek  word,  is  not  well 
grounded. 


MEANING  ESTABLISHED  BY  USAGE. 

PRIMARY TO   DIP. 

Irifavov  elq  (ivpo'^  I3d<l'a-:.  uSSlian,  lib.  xiv,  cap.  30 
Dipping  the  crown  into  ointment. 

^Evil3a4'sv  ejc  tov  X7]pdv  abrr^r  tu)  yrode.  Aristophanes,  NuheS,  i,  2. 
Dipped  its  feet  into  the  wax. 

ToS"  i(jLi3d<piu  }.aj3a)v.  Aristophanes,  Peace,  960. 
I  will  dip — in,  the  torch,  having  taken  it. 

El  ei'c  xTjpov  l3d(/>eti  r:c.  Aristotle,  On  the  Soul,  iii,  12. 
If  any  one  should  dip  into  wax. 

Bd(pai  yap  del,  xa\  tot   avu)  ikxuffac.   Aristotle,  Mech.  Quest.  C.  29. 
It  is  necessary  to  dip  and  then  to  draw  up. 

'£?  vSaTa  xpcjaabv  k'j3a4'e.  Constantine,  Epigr.  of  Hermolaus. 
He  dipped  a  vessel  into  water. 

Ei':  Tdq  Tzhupuq  lid(pa<;  Tr,v  al-^ii-qv.  Dionys.  HalUc.  Ant.  Rom.  lib.  v. 
Dipping  the  spear  into  the  breast. 

Kai  vau-z  yap e^ac/'ev.  Euripides,  Orestes,  705. 

If  a  vessel  has dipped. 


140  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Bd4>aq,  htyxe  deupo  TTovriat;  dXoq.   Euripides,  Hecuhtt,  608. 
Dipping  it,  bring  hither  of  the  salt  sea. 

BdTTTsiv  ^(TTi  TO  ^aXav  ri  er?  udtap.  SchoUum,  Hecuba,  608. 

To  dip  is  to  let  something  down  into  water  or  some  other  fluid. 

Odde  eiq  7:ept/]pavzTJptov  ip/SaTZTetv.  lamblichus,  Vit.  Pythcig.  C.  18. 
Nor  to  dip — into  the  periranterium. 

Kpwaaoiaiv  oOvsiocffi  jSd(/'avTe<;  ydvoe:.  Lycophron,  Cassandra,  1365. 
Dipping  pleasure  with  foreign  vessels. 

Eir  aTiXdyyv   i^j(t5vrje;  ahzoysip  ^d^'st  ^i<pot:,   JJyCOpJiron,  lf21. 
Will  dip  the  sword  into  the  viper's  bowels. 

Ta  xaXrudi  x-qpia  j3d(pat.   Theocritus,  Idyl  V,  127. 
Dij)  honey  with  a  pitcher. 

TO  WET. 

Bd(paq  xoiXtjV  ttjv  ;f  £T/?a,  Ttpoqpaivsi  ttjv  dcxaffTTJpiav.    SuidaS,  de  Hierocle. 
"Wetting  the  hollow  of  his  hand  he  sprinkles  the  judgment  seat. 

TO  MOISTEN. 

6Xi^6pevo<:  8k  ^dizTsi  xat  dvOi'^ei  zijv  /£7/)a.  Aristotle,  Hist.  Anim.  V,  15. 
Being  pressed  it  moistens  and  colors  the  hand. 

To  I3d(j>a:,  da^vai  xixXyjxev  6  7ro£7;T5j>.  Plutarch,  Sympos.  Prob.  8,  6. 
Bd<pat,  the  poet  has  called  to  moisten. 

TO  WASH. 

UoTapoto  l^d4>aro  .   .   .   u)poo(;  h  x£faXrj<:.  AratUS,  220. 
Washed  head  and  shoulders  of  the  river. 

^Avi^£Xo(;,  ^dnzoi  poou  iarrspcoto.  AratuS,  858. 
Cloudless,  washes  of  the  western  flood. 

"EiSacJ'e  kwurov  ^a?  ini  rov  TTorapov.  Ilcrodotus,  Euterpe,  47. 
Washed  himself,  going  upon  the  river. 


MEANING    ESTABLISHED    BY    USAGE.  141 


Bdnroofft  OtppM.  Aristoplianes,  Eccles.  216. 
They  wash  with  warm  water. 


SECONDARY — TO    DYE. 

BdTZToofftv "" A<ppo8irfjr  tov  Ttinkov.  Achil.  Tat.  II,  87. 
They  dye  the  robe  of  Venus. 

To  (fdpiiaxov  u)  l^dTZTSTat.  Acliil.  Tat.  II,  89. 
The  drug  with  which  it  is  dyed. 

'Efid-KxtTo  d'alixari  Xiir^rj.  jEsopi,  Pliry.  Fab.  Batv.  218, 
The  lake  was  dyed  with  blood. 

"Im  firi  ae  jSd^'oj  j^d/i/m  lapdiavr/.m.  Aristophanes^  Achar.  I,  1 12. 
Lest  I  dye  j^ou  a  Sardinian  dye. 

"Opvit:  ftaTZTot;.  Aristophanes,  Aves,  526.  ' 

A  dyed  bird. 

Kai  rd  an   adT7J<;  J3a7:r6;j.£va  l/idrca.   Barker's  ClasS,  BeC.  p.  418. 
And  the  garments  which  are  dyed  from  it. 

Tdq  Tpi'/aq,  a>  NixoXXa,  zL^iq  iSdrrrscv  at  Uyouffiv.  Bentleii,  Ep.  Coll.  139. 
Some  say  that  j^ou  dye  your  hair. 

TrjV  y.scpalrfj  iSd-rec-:,  pjpac;  Si:  aov  ounore  j3d<l'ecq.   Bentleii,  Epigr.  Coll. 
Thou  may'st  dye  thy  head,  thy  old  age  thou  canst  not  dye. 

Kal  (papimaasiv  to  iSdnzeiv  iXiysTO,  EustathiuS  ad  II.  X,  32. 
To  drug  was  called  to  dye. 

'Erzsiddv  Iruffrd^rj  l/idrca  ISdyzreTac.   Hippocrates. 

When  it  drops  upon  the  garments  they  are  dyed. 

KaOdmp  ol  jSacpe't^  xpoexy.aOaipovrsq.   lamblichus  Vlt.  Pl/th.  xvii. 
As  dyers  cleanse  beforehand. 

^Eps'iq  ds  (iacpTJ  y^pibffiq,  xara'/pwff'.^.   JuliuS  Pollux,  vii,  30. 
You  will  call  [iacprj  color,  paint. 

Ka\  ,3d4>ofiat.  Menander,  Frag.  2,  Anger. 
And  I  will  dye. 


142  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

^Eav  ri  r£c  aXXa  ^pw/iara  iSdzTrj   ^av  rs  xai  raora.   PlatO,  de  Repub. 

IV,  429. 
Whether  one  dye  other  colors,  or  whether  these. 


TO    STAIN. 

^'Ei3a(pa<;  ey^oi;  su  rrpoq  '"Apyeiwj  arpaxm.   Sophocles,  Ajax,  95. 
1b  it  well  that  thou  hast  stained  thy  sword  with  the  army 
of  the  Greeks? 

TO   SMEAR. 
AodiZwv,  y.ai  </'7jv{^wv,  xai  ^ar^roixtvoq  ^aTpay^£.mz-  Aristopll.  EquiteS, 

523. 
Playing  the  Au8ot  and  the  ^ijv,  and  smeared  with  frog-colored 
washes. 

TO   GILD. 

KaX  TzvA-q'^  ^Ail'd-Z-,  T,Xob(Tio<:  i^syd^ri^.  Jacob's  Anthol.  iii,  145. 
Having  gilded  poverty  thou  hast  appeared  rich. 


TO    TEMPER. 

Jahou  pa<pdq.  jEschylus,  Agam.  612. 
Temj)erers  of  brass  ? 

Ba<priv  d(piivai.  Aristotle^  Pol.  7,  14. 
To  lose  temjicr. 

Eiv  uSarc  4''JXPV  f^^^'V  •  •  •  •  <pap!ida<T(i)v.  Homer,  Odys.  ix,  392. 
Working  ....  tempers  with  cold  water. 

Bacpr  aiS-qpoq  &q.  Sophocles,  Ajax,  651. 
As  iron  by  tempering. 

OrjXuvsrat  j3el3a,u;j.iv(K  o~o  llaioo.   Scholium,  Ajax.  663. 
Tempered  by  oil  it  is  softened. 


MEANING   ESTABLISHED    BY   USAGE.  143 


TO   IMBUE. 

BaTZTSTai  yap  vnb  twv  (pavTaaiwv  ij  (J'o^ij,  fid-re  ouv  aorrjv  rrj  ffuvs^sirj 

TU)v  TowvTwv,  (pwjraaiui'j.  Antoninus  M.  V,  17. 
The  sovil  is  imbued  by  the  thoughts,  imbue  it,  therefore,  by 

the  habitude  of  such  thoughts. 

AcxacoffuvTj  iSejSa/j.fiii'ov  ei'?  fidOor;.  Antoninus  M.  iii,  6. 
Imbued  by  integrity  to  the  bottom. 

"Opa  [iTj  aTZoxataapwOr^i;  pij  fia(prj(;.   AntoninuS  M.  vi,  25. 
Beware  of  Caesarism,  lest  you  be  imbued  by  it. 

Movaav  i/idvaca  itpcbToq  efiai/'s  /oA^.   Bentleii,  Ejng.  Coll.  p.  156. 
He  first  imbued  tlie  Muse  with  viperish  gall, 

Xo^Yj  fiefiaiiivotr  ofswv  6i'(TToi<;.  Strabo,  xvi,  p.  1117. 
Arrows  imbued  with  the  gall  of  serpents. 

'Avakdfirj  TO  izdOoq  rod  fisfiaiipivoo.  Epictetus,  Anian,  xi,  9. 
Should  adopt  the  character  of  one  imbued. 

01  fidzrai.   Eupolis. 
The  Baptffi. 

BAHTn— PRIMARY. 
TO   DIP. 

All  the  quotations  showing  the  primary,  literal  use, 
confirm  what  Aristotle  says,  that  the  act  expressed  is  one 
which  carries  its  object,  superficially,  into  a  fluid  and 
brings  it  out.  The  act  is,  emphatically,  one  of  limitations, 
— limitation  of  force,  limitation  of  extent  of  entrance  into 
the  element,  limitation  of  time  of  continuance  within  the 
element,  and,  by  consequence,  limitation  of  influence.  It 
is,  also,  noticeable  that  the  objects  are  limited  in  magni- 
tude, although  there  is  no  other  necessity  for  this  than  the 
limitation  of  human  strength,  in  its  ordinary  exercise,  by 
which  objects  are  usually  dipped.     Euripides  speaks  of 


144  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

the  dipping  of  a  sailing  vessel;  but  it  is  not  the  entire  ves- 
sel that  is  dipped,  but  merely  the  rising  and  falling  pro- 
duced by  the  wind.  The  case,  more  fully  stated,  is  this: 
"  Has  a  ship,  with  sheet  hauled  close,  struck  by  the  wind, 
dipped  ?     She  will  right  again  if  the  sheet  be  loosed.'" 

The  following  quotation  illustrates  the  passage :  "  As 
the  squadron  rounded  the  buoy  the  wind  was  free  and 
the  sheets  were  eased  ofi';  the  vessels  righted  at  once." 
The  dipping  is  not  directly  stated,  but  is  involved  in  the 
"righting."  Some  have  translated  this  passage  — "  if  a 
vessel  has  sunk."  There  is  no  sanction  here,  or  elsewhere, 
for  translating  /Sa'jrrw  to  siiih.  It  is  never  applied  to  vessels, 
or  anything  else,  sunk;  (iar.ri^iu,  exclusively,  is  used  in  con- 
nection with  such  facts.  This  case  proves  that  a  part, 
only,  of  an  object  may  be  dipped,  although  there  bo  no 
express  limitation  in  the  statement. 

Carson  objects  to  this  (p.  21) :  "  Grave  doctors  make 
themselves  fools"  by  saying  that  the  phrase,  "they  dipped 
the  man  in  the  river,  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they 
dipped  him  all  over."  Euripides  was  not  a  "  grave  doc- 
tor," and  so  may  escape  the  unenviable  brand  which  the 
Doctor  of  Tubbermore  applies  so  sovereignly  to  his  fellow 
"  doctors."  The  vessel  is  dipped  (by  a  sudden  blast)  into 
the  sea  without  being  "dipped  all  over,"  and  Euripides 
was,  surely,  no  "  fool"  in  his  knoAvledge  of  Greek.  Besides, 
Dr.  Carson,  and  other  "  grave  doctors,"  speak,  dail}',  of 
"dipping  men  in  the  river,"  when  they,  in  fact,  dip  but  a 
part  of  the  body  (head  and  shoulders),  and  I  never  heard 
of  any  one  calling  them  "  fools"  for  such  use  of  language, 
however  much  they  may  be  judged  liable  to  the  charge 
of  inconsistency  in  carr3'ing  theory  into  practice. 

The  preposition  employed  in  all  these  passages  (where 
any  is  expressed)  claims  attention.  'Et^  is  always  em- 
ployed, with  its  appropriate  case,  and  the  verb  in  the 
active  voice  directly  expressive  of  the  act  performed.  This 
is  the  natural  use  of  the  word  in  its  primary  sense,  and 
whenever  otherwise  used  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
there  is  some  modification  in  the  meaning'  of  the  word. 


MEANINGS    GROWING    OUT    OF   DIPPING   INTO   WATER.       145 

The  use  of /Ja-rtTw  will  be  fouucl  to  be  in  marked  con- 
trast with  this.  It  is  useclj  infrequently,  in  tho.  active  voice 
with  i:?,  in  its  primary  sense,  because  such  is  not  the  natu- 
ral grammatical  construction  of  this  class  of  words,  al- 
though they  may  be  so  employed  with  a  verb  understood. 

MEANINGS    GROWING    OUT    OF    DIPPING    INTO   AVATER. 

1.  To  Wet. — This  is  an  unavoidable  consequence  of  dip- 
ping anything  into  water;  and  it  would  be  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  laws  of  language  to  use  the  word,  whose 
act  produces  the  effect,  to  express  such  effect  when  not 
produced  by  its  form  of  act.  It  is  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  translate  by  dip  in  the  passage  from  Suidas,  and 
it  seems  to  be  a  necessity  to  translate  by  icd. 

2.  To  Moisten. — In  the  quotation  from  Aristotle  dip  is  out 
of  all  question,  and  f/ye  seems  to  be  as  much  so,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  use  of  "  av^l^e:."  Two  words  are  not  needed 
to  express  dyeing;  while  the  moistening  by  the  juice  of  the 
berry  pressed  is  essential  to  dye,  stain,  or  color  the  hand. 

We  the  more  readily  adopt  this  meaning,  as  Plutarch 
expressly  says  that  the  w^ord  is  used  in  this  sense. 

3.  To  Wash. — Aratus  speaks  of  a  crow  w^ashing  itself 
"  of  the  river."  The  phraseology  indicates  that  dipping  is 
not  intended.  The  scholiast  omits  the  limitation  ("head 
and  shoulders")  in  the  text,  and  says,  "Avashes  itself" — 
^d-zei  de  iaozrjv  ij  -/.op^Axr^ — including  the  wliolc,  while  a  part 
only  is  washed. 

In  the  second  quotation  from  the  same  writer  the  form 
of  the  phraseology  is  similar,  and  is  indicative  of  a  similar 
use.  The  importance  of  the  form  of  expression  is  obvious 
in  the  translation  of  Carson — "if  the  crow  dips  his  head 
into  the  river."  "Into"  has  no  existence  in  the  text,  and 
whatever  Carson  may  think,  others  will  be  likely  to  judge 
that  "  into  the  river"  and  "  of  the  river"  are  phrases  of 
very  different  value. 

10 


1-16  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

Herodotus. — The  quotation  from  Herodotus  is  thus  trans- 
lated by  Carson :  "  The  Egyptians  consider  the  swine  so 
polhited  a  beast,  that  if  any  one  in  passing  touch  a  swine, 
he  w^ill  go  away,  and  dip  himself  with  his  very  garments, 
going  into  the  river." 

Unless  the  text  of  Dr.  Carson  differed  from  that  before 
me,  we  have,  here,  another  of  those  broad  discrepancies 
so  often  found  in  the  translations  of  this  writer  as  compared 
with  the  original.  There  is  nothing  said  about  "  going 
into  the  river;"  the  text  is  "going  kjjor"  (the  bank  of) 
"the  river."  If,  however,  it  be  assumed,  as  an  unstated 
fact,  that  after  having  come  upon  the  river,  he,  also, 
"  went  into  the  river"  and  then  "  dipped  himself,"  we 
learn  from  Dr.  Carson  that,  after  all,  the  dipping  of  the 
head  and  shoulders  may  be  accepted  as  the  dipping  of  the 
man,  "himself,"  into  the  river. 

The  same  writer  tells  us  with  some  degree  of  exultation, 
"  Here  is  a  religious  baptism,  and  it  is  by  immersion."  As 
depicted  by  Carson,  this  Egyptian  "  baptism"  into  the 
jSTile  is  a  perfect  model  for  those  more  modern  "  religious 
baptisms"  with  which  he  is  familiar.  "  Going  into  the 
river,"  "with  clothes  on,"  dipping  the  head  and  shoulders; 
these  are  the  necessary  elements.  If,  now,  Herodotus 
were  Matthew,  and  Egypt  were  Palestine,  and  the  Kile 
were  Jordan,  and  last,  but  not  least,  if  jSd—cu  were  fia-riZui,^ 
and  the  facts  were  as  the  translator  represents,  then,  to  the 
narrative  might  bo  appended  an  unanswerable  Q.  e.  d. 

But  the  equanimity  with  which  this  transaction  is  re- 
ferred to  as  a  solution  of  the  mode  of  baptism  must  be 
disturbed.  It  is  not  called  a  "baptism"  by  Herodotus,  but 
by  Dr.  Carson,  and  with  self-inconsistency,  for  elsewhere 
(p.  48)  he  says,  that  this  word  should  never  be  used  w'ith 
bapto.  Herodotus  understood  Greek  too  well  to  use  any- 
thing else  than  fid-riu,  here,  whether  it  means  to  dip  or  to 
wash,  and  we  cannot  allow  Dr.  Carson  to  correct,  or  to 
pervert,  his  language  by  transforming  ,5a--w  into  /Ja-n'^w. 
The  fact  is  that  this  transaction,  as  represented  by  Carson, 
is  fatal  to  the  Baptist  scheme.     According  to  it,  a  true 


MEANINGS   GROWING    OUT    OF   DIPPING   INTO   WATER.        147 

Greek  calls  their  ritual  service  a  bapting;  this  we  cheer- 
fully admit  it  to  be;  but  this  will  not  quite  answer:  so  the 
attempt  is  made  to  convert  it  into  a  haptizmg.  The  Egyp- 
tian bapiing  may  be  pleaded  as  a  precedent  for  modern 
dippmg,  but  it  must  be  just  as  it  is,  with  no  surreptitious 
conversion  of  the  transaction  into  a  baptism.  The  more 
strongly  this  dipping  is  leaned 'iipon  for  support,  the  more 
utterly  is  Christian  baptism  abandoned.  Bd-nu  and  i^a—C'^u) 
are  non-interchangeable  terms.  The  Scriptures  adopt  the 
latter,  and  know  nothing  of  Egyptian  bapting.  Herodo- 
tus is  right  in  the  use  of  language;  dipping  is  baj^ting, 
and  Carson  must  be  satisfied  with  bapting  or  change  his 
practice. 

The  Doctor  attempts,  in  vain,  to  bridge  over  the  gulf  be- 
tween these  two  words  by  saying:  "The  person  dips  him- 
self; therefore  it  is  bapto  to  dip,  and  not  baptizo  to  cause 
to  dip."  The  attempted  distinction  has  no  real  existence. 
"When  I  dip  my  pen  into  the  ink  I  cause  it  to  dip  just  as 
much  as  when  I  dip  the  upper  part  of  a  man's  body  into 
the  river.  Besides,  this  reasoning  is  nullified  by  the  writer 
himself  when  he  speaks  of  Naamau,  finding  no  embarrass- 
ment from  the  presence  of/5a--r'C<«j  but  makes  him,  b}'  this 
word,  "dip  himself,"  entirely-  oblivious  of  the  necessity, 
arising  from  this  word,  that  somebody  else  should  be  there 
^*'  to  cause  him  to  dip." 

It  remains,  then,  classically  true,  that  "  Bapting  is  dip- 
ping, and  Dipping  is  bapting;"  but  this  truth  throws  the 
rite  of  our  friends  entirely  out  of  the  range  of  Scripture 
phraseolog}'. 

What  this  swine-polluted  Egyptian  did,  wliethcr  he  went 
into  the  river  and  dipped  his  head,  or  remained  on  the  bank 
and  ivashcd,  has  some  bearing  on  the  meaning  of  f^d-ruj;  it 
has  none  on  fia-zi%<ii.  It  expounds  the  dipping  of  Baptists; 
it  has  no  bearing  on  the  baptism  of  the  Scriptures. 

AristopJiancs. — "  They  wash  the  wool  with  Avarm  water." 
Carson  admits  that  this  translation  "  gives  the  sense,  but 
not  the  exact  version  of  the  words;  what  is  asserted  is,  that 
they  dip,  or  immerse,  or  plunge  the  wool  into  warm  water." 


148  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  say  that  his  translation  either 
"  gives  the  sense  or  is  an  exact  version  of  the  words." 
Of  what  use  is  it  for  a  controversiahst  to  translate  [id-Toom 
Ozpria>,  "  they  dip  into  warm  water"  ?  And  of  what  use  are 
grammatical  forms,  if  such  as  that  before  us  is  to  be  con- 
verted, by  some  prcsUdigiiation,  into  another  essentially  dif- 
ferent ?  The  form  and  tte  nature  of  the  case  unite  in 
sustaining  the  conclusion,  that  the  dative  is  instrumental, 
and  that  there  must  be  a  corresponding  modification  in 
the  use  of  the  verb. 

Some  things  ma}'  be  washed  by  dipping,  but  a  greasy 
jBeece  of  wool  is  not  among  the  number;  a  dipping,  there- 
fore, is  not  the  thing  that  is  here  called  for,  but  a  washing. 
It  is  admitted  that  •'  Snidas  and  Phavorinns  interpret  bap- 
tousi  by  plunousi;"  but  "it  argues  shallow  philosophy  to 
suppose  that  on  this  account  the  words  are  perfectly  synon- 
ymous." The  "  shallowness"  may  be  found  to  be  in  Dr. 
Carson's  examination  of  the  case;  but  whether  or  no,  I 
leave  it  to  lovers  of  truth  to  determine,  assured  that,  how- 
ever determined,  the  result  bears  more  strongly  on  general 
truth  than  on  the  specific  issue  before  us. 


BAnTfi— SECONDAEY. 

TO    DYE.  « 

Dr.  Gale,  representing  Baptist  writers  up  io  that  time, 
says:  "The  Greeks  apply  the  word  to  the  dyer's  art,  but 
■always  so  as  to  imply  and  refer  onbj  to  its  true,  natural 
signification  to  dip." 

This  position  was  tenaciously  held  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years,  notwithstanding  all  the  mass  of  evidence  accu- 
mulated against  it.  At  length  Dr.  Carson  arose,  and 
sharply  rebuked  his  friends  for  attempting  to  advocate 
so  untenable  a  position.  He  boldly  affirmed  that  /9a-rw, 
"from  signifying  mere  mode,  came  to  denote  dyeing  in  any 
manner.  This  serves  to  solve  difficulties  that  have  been 
very  clumsily  got  over  by  some  of  the  ablest  writers  on 


TO   DYE.  149 

this  side  of  the  question.  Hippocrates  employs  [idzzu}  to 
denote  djeing  by  dropping — 'When  it  drops  upon  the 
garments  they  are  dyed' — this  surely  is  not  dyeing  by 
dipping." 

This  reasoning  is  presented  by  Dr.  Carson  as  unanswer- 
able, and  it  has  been  accepted,  from  him,  by  Baptists,  as 
truth,  although  rejected  a  tljousand  times  when  stated  by 
their  opponents.  And,  yet,  when  identically  the  same 
argumentation  is  adduced  to  prove  that  fid-7u)  may  mean 
to  loct — Nebuchadnezzar  being  baptedby  drops  of  dew — it 
is  rejected  as  a  mere  nullity,  and  [id-rio  can  mean  nothing- 
else  but  dip! 

Gale's  position  in  reference  to  .fid-Toj,  which  Carson  re- 
pudiates (with  the  Baptist  world  crying,  "Well  done!"),  he 
most  cordially  adopts  as  true,  in  relation  to.yS«-rtCw;  ^*  the 
Greeks  apply  this  word  to  cases  where  there  is  no  immer- 
sion in  fact,  but  always  so  as  to  imply  and  refer  only  to  its 
true,  natural  signification,  to  dip.''  And,  again,  the  Baptist 
world  exclaims,  "Well  done!" 

It  may  be  of  but  little  avail  for  us  to  bring  evidence, 
"clear  as  holy  writ,"  in  disproof  of  this  position;  but  J 
suppose  we  must  continue  to  do  it  until  another  Carson, 
wilful,  but  honest  and  trusted  by  his  friends,  shall  arise 
and  teach  them  that  "from  signifying  intusposition,  and 
complete  influence  from  intusposition,  it  came  to  denote 
baptizing,"  i.  e.  influencing  con)pletely  without  intusposi- 
tion and  in  any  manner.  "  This  seems  to  solve  difliculties 
that  have  been  very  clumsily  got  over  by  some  of  the 
ablest  writers  on  this  side  of  the  question."  And  him 
they  will  hear. 

"  Bapting  by  sprinkling"  was  once  regarded  as  a  very 
fair  subject  for  the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  ridicule;  but 
that  time  has  passed,  and,  in  order  to  cover  the  confessed 
error,  the  task  is  assumed  of  making  doubly  ridiculous 
^'■baptizmrj  by  sprinkling."  Truth  can  wait;  but  she  will 
not  have  to  wait  long  before  the  confession  will,  once 
more,  be  made — "there  are  difficulties  very  clumsily  got 
over  by  some  of  the  ablest  writers"  who  have  ventured  to 


150  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

indorse  this  Baptist  position — "  baptizing  by  sprinkling  is 
an  absurdit3^" 

Bd-TO)  to  dye  has  a  far  more  practical  and  instrnctive  rela- 
tion to  /Sa-r:Ca>,  than  lias  ^d-TU)  to  dip ;  because  the  former 
meaning  is  not,  like  the  latter,  a  demand  for  an  act,  but 
for  an  efi'ect,  and  there  is  a  consequent  harmony  in  gram- 
matical forms,  and,  measurably,  of  thought  branching  out 
of  it.  This  will  be  seen  to  be  true  by  the  facts  of  usage. 
As  a  dyed  condition  may  be  effected  in  almost  endless 
variety  of  wa^'s,  even  including  the  paradox,  "  dipping  by 
sprinkling,"  so,  a  baptized  condition  may  be  efiectcd  in 
ways  no  less  numberless,  even  including  "  the  absurdit}"" 
baptizing  by  sprinkling. 

We  might  decline  to  use  dye  to  express  the  modified 
meaning  of /3a-rw,  and  retain  dip,  throughout,  as  the  Greeks 
retain  fid-ru). 

There  would  be  a  propriety  in  doing  so;  because,  1.  It 
would  perfectly  reflect  the  Greek  practice.  2.  Because 
dip,  in  English,  also,  has  the  meaning  to  dye.  3.  Because 
thrown  on  to  the  sentiment  and  the  syntax,  to  learn  the 
modification  of  the  primary  meaning,  there-  would  be  some 
equalization  of  the  case  with  that  of  iia-riZuj,  when  it  is 
compelled  to  vindicate  its  claim  to  modified  meaning  under 
the  uniform  use  of  a  single  word  through  all  its  usage. 

But  we  wnll  not  insist  on  putting  a  similar  burden  on 
/Sa-Tw;  but  cheerfully  assume  the  unequal  task,  believing 
that  the  word  is  able  to  vindicate  its  rights  even  under 
such  unfavorable  circumstances. 


«'  The  lake  was  dyed  with  blood." 

It  would  be  quite  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  any  of  these 
quotations,  if  the  only  purpose  w^as  to  establish  the  mean- 
ing to  dye;  this  has  been  thoroughly  done,  and  is  univer- 
sally accepted ;  but  there  are  other  reasons,  connected  with 
the  grammatical  structure,  modified  translation,  varied 
agencies,  the  introduction  of  distinct  words  to  express  the 


TO    DYE.  151 

form  of  action,  as  they  bear  upon  and  illustrate  kindred 
peculiarities  in  the  usage  of  /Sa-riT^,  which  make  a  rapid 
survey  of  particular  passages  desirable. 

The  above  passage  from  ^Esop,  attributed  to  Homer,  is 
instructive  by  reason  of  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been 
treated  in  the  earlier  period  of  this  controversy,  as  well 
as  for  the  reasons  prompting  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
ground  then  taken. 

Dr.  Gale  says:  "The  literal  sense  is,  the  lake  was  dip- 
ped in  blood.  And  the  lake  is  represented,  by  hyperbole, 
as  dipped  in  blood." 

Dr.  Carson  replies  to  this:  "IsTever  was  there  such  a 
figure.  The  lake  is  not  said  to  be  dipped,  or  poured,  or 
sprinkled,  but  dyed  with  blood.  The  expression  is  literal, 
and  has  not  the  smallest  difficulty." 

It  is  desirable  to  note  several  particulars  ruling  in  Dr. 
Carson's  interpretation : 

1.  The  repudiation  of  Gale's  view  on  the  ground  of  ex- 
trava<2:ance  in  the  fii^ure. 

2.  The  rejection  of  all  figure  by  the  introduction  of  a 
secondary  meaning. 

3.  The  denial  that  the  act  by  which  the  dyeing  takes 
place  is  expressed  by  /9arrw.  "  The  blood  was  poured  into 
the  lake,"  but  '■'■  ^d--uj  docs  not,  therefore,  signify  to  pour." 

4.  The  rejection  of  the  local  dative  and  the  substitution 
of  the  instrumental. 

5.  The  necessity  for  this  as  grounded  in  the  meaning 
of  the  verb  as  modified. 

So  long  as  Gale  insisted  on  the  act  dip,  he  was  com- 
pelled (whatever  might  be  the  amount  of  violence  done  to 
the  construction,  or  whatever  might  be  "the  perversion 
of  taste")  to  make  the  dative  represent  that  in  which  the 
act  took  place,  for  "blood"  could  not  be  instrumental  in 
a  dijjping;  in  like  manner,  when  Carson  rejected  the  act 
(dip)  and  took  the  condition  (dye),  he  was  shut  up  to  the 
necessity  of  interpreting  the  dative  as  instrumental;  for 
"blood"  can  dj/e  while  it  cannot  dip. 

6.  The  dative  is  made  instrumental,  notwithstanding 


152  CLASStC   BAPTISM. 

that  it  represents  a  fluid  element  in  which  (its  nature  only 
considered)  a  dipping  could  readily  take  place. 

All  these  elements  which  enter  into  the  rejection  of 
Gale's  interpretation  (who  in  this  matter  does  not  stand  as 
a  simple  individual,  but  as  the  representative  of  the  entire 
Baptist  body)  will  come  into  frequent  play  in  the  exposi- 
tion of  other  passages  where  Carson  will  be  found  attempt- 
ing to  sustain  a  similar  position  in  relation  to  /JaTrrttw,  with 
that  of  Gale  to  /3a-r<«,  which  he  has  so  remorselessly  over- 
turned. 

One  more  point  in  connection  w^ith  this  passage  and  we 
may  leave  it. 

"  Bd-Tcij,  from  signifying  mere  mode,  came  to  be  applied 
to  a  certain  operation  usually  performed  in  that  mode. 
From  signifying  dip  it  came  to  signify  to  dye  by  dip- 
ping." And,  according  to  this  interpretation,  and  else- 
where, it  came,  by  yet  another  step,  to  signify  to  dye  without 
dipping;  to  dye  in  any  manner.  That  is  to  say,  the  original 
peculiarity  of  the  word,  the  name  remaining  the  same,  is 
entirely  lost  sight  of:  1,  to  dip;  2,  to  dye  bg  dipping;  3,  to 
dye  without  dipping.  Apply,  now,  this  developing  pro- 
cess to  I3a-Ti^uj,  and  we  have,  1.  To  intuspose  within  a  fluid. 
2.  To  influence  controUingly  bg  intusposition  within  a 
fluid.    3.  To  influence  controUingly  without  intusposition. 

In  the  first  process  lid-Tio  remains,  in  all  its  literal  integ- 
rity; but  dip  is  wholly  eliminated  from  its  signification. 
In  the  second  process,  fia-riZm  exhibits  every  letter  in 
wonted  position,  while  it  has,  bodily,  come  forth  from 
intusposition  in  water  or  in  anything  else. 

However  much  it  may  be  denied  that  this  latter  word 
has  such  development,  in  fact,  it  is  beyond  denial  that 
such  development  mag  be  (unless  w^e  are  to  go  back  to  the 
antiquated  interpretation  of  "the  lake  dipped,  hyperboli- 
cally,  in  a  frog's  blood"),  and  if  it  may  be,  then,  the  cry 
of  "absurdity"  is  absurd. 

What  are  the  facts  as  to  this  development,  we  can  better 
determine  when  they  shall  have  passed  before  us. 


TO    DYE.  153 

"  The  garments  which  are  dyed  from  it  are  called  byssina." 

The  use  of  the  genitive  («-'  aurT^z)  exchides  all  idea  of 
dipping  which  might  be  forced  upon  the  dative.  Even 
Gale  could  not  say,  here,  "  the  garments  are  dipped  in  it." 
Although  the  garments  should  have  been  dyed  by  dipping^ 
still,  the  (id-TO),  in  this  construction,  could  have  neither 
part  nor  lot  in  any  such  dipping.  If  this  act  should  be 
desired  to  appear,  and  appear  under  the  auspices  of  fidnru), 
this  word  as  signifying  to  dip  must  be  called  into  requisi- 
tion; as  meaning  to  dye,  in  this  passage,  its  power  is  ex- 
hausted, and  the  dipping  must  be  supplied  from  some 
other  quarter. 

E"o  word  can  have,  at  the  same  time,  two  meanings. 
No  word  can  mean,  in  the  same  passage,  both  dip  and  dye. 


And  I  will  dye." 


No  regimen  is  expressed.  "I,  also,  was  once  young; 
but  I  was  not  washed,  then,  five  times  a  day;  but  now  I 
am;  nor  had  I,  then,  a  fine  mantle;  but  now  I  have;  nor 
had  I  ointment;  but  now  I  have;  and,  I icill  drje." 

To  dye  himself  did  not  require  that  he  should  dye  his 
whole  person,  but  the  hair  and  beard — "  crines  et  barbam 
pingebant,"  a  commentator  observes.  On  the  process  of 
dyeing  a  writer  from  India  says:  "  On  reaching  the  village 
I  observed  an  aged  man,  the  lower  part  of  whose  face  was 
covered  with  bandages,  beneath  which  stuck  out  the  edges 
of  green  leaves  besmeared  with  a  black  stuft'.  I  inquired 
into  the  cause.  The  reply  was  that  he  had  colored  his 
beard,  and  that  the  bandage  was  worn  until  the  color  had 
well  dried  upon  the  hair.  The  coloring  of  the  beard  is  a 
very  usual  custom." 

We,  here,  learn  how  absolutely  dipping  has  disappeared 
from  dyeing.  The  Christian  missionar}^  (J.  II.  Orbison) 
repeats  what  Nearchus  said  two  thousand  years  ago  — 
"the  Indians  dye  their  beards." 


154  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

The  mode,  as  well  as  the  custom,  probably  remains  the 
same. 


"  When  it  drops  upon  tlie  garments  they  are  dyed." 

This  statement  goes  beyond  the  others  in  the  exclusion 
of  dipping,  in  that  while  they  expressed  this  by  construc- 
tion and  by  sentiment,  here,  we  are  expressly  furnished 
with  a  word  (t-tara^rj)  expressing  an  act  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent character,  by  which  the  coloring  material  is  brought 
in  contact  with  the  material  to  be  dyed.  Professor  Wilson 
remarks :  "  The  great  critical  value  of  this  example  con- 
sists in  its  stripping  (Sd-rco  completely  of  all  claim  to  modal 
signification,  by  employing  another  term  to  denote  the 
manner  in  which  the  dye  was  applied  to  the  garments." 

"VYe  have,  here,  a  favorable  opportunity  to  indicate  and 
make  the  attempt  to  correct,  an  error  constantly  outcrop- 
ping in  this  controversy. 

No  Baptist  would  say  that  /5a-rw,  in  the  phrase  "to  dye 
by  dropping,"  expressed  the  act  to  drop;  no  such  person 
should  say  that  l3d-To  in  the  phrase,  "  to  dye  by  dipping," 
expressed  the  act  to  dip;  and,  yet,  there  is  a  constant  iden- 
tification of  jianriZu}  with  the  act  (whatever  it  may  be)  by 
which  its  demand  is  efi'ectcd. 

It  is  possible  that  it  may  yet  bo  confessed  that  it  is  quite 
aa  facile,  and  fully  as  legitimate,  to  baptize  by  sprinkling 
as  to  jdaKTEcv  by  dropping;  while  in  so  doing,  although  the 
sprinkling  eflects  a  baptism  as  truly  as  that  the  dropping 
efi'ccts  a  bapting,  yet  [^a—i'^u)  has  just  as  little  responsibility 
for  the  expression  of  the  act  of  sprinkling,  as  /3d-rw  has  for 
giving  expression  to  the  act  of  dropping. 


"  Whether  one  dye  other  colors,  or  whether  those." 

"No  matter  what  dye  they  are  dipped  hi,"  is  the  trans- 
lation of  Gale  and  Carson,  and  is,  surely,  loose  enough 
when  used  as   an   element  for  a  critical  judgment.     It 


TO    DYE.  155 

shows  no  regard  to  the  syntax.  The  comment  of  Ilallej 
is  just:  "Whether  the  ypu>ixa  was  the  dye  into  which  the 
wool  was  dipped,  or  the  color  imparted  to  it,  is  not  the 
question.  Bo  it  which  it  may,  it  is  the  object  of  i^d-rrj;  it 
has  gained  in  the  syntax  the  place  of  the  material  sub- 
jected to  the  process;  and,  therefore,  pleads  a  law  of  lan- 
guage, that  j?d-T(o  in  the  passage  does  not,  and  cannot  mean 
to  dip,  as  the  color  cannot  be  dipped  whatever  may  be 
done  with  the  wool." 

"  Colors  dipped  in  Heaven"  (Milton)  is  a  parallel  passage; 
where  "dipped"  necessarily  means  dyed. 


''  Lest  I  dye  you  a  Sardian  dye." 

"Lest  I  dip  you  into  a  Sardinian  dye."  {Carson.)  Such 
translation  makes  a  recast  of  the  syntax.  And  by  so 
doing  opens  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  the  primary 
meaning,  in  contradiction  to  the  principle  laid  down  by 
Buttman  and  Kuhner — "when  the  verb  is  followed  by  the 
corresponding  or  kindred  abstract  substantive," — which 
would  necessitate  the  translation,  "6(ye  a  Sardian  df/e,"  or 
^^  dip  a  Sardian  dij)." 

The  apology  offered  by  Carson  for  his  translation  is : 
"  As  the  reference  is  to  the  art  of  dyeing,  so  the  expression 
must  be  suited  to  the  usual  mode  of  dyeing."  Against 
such  reasoning  we  protest.  There  is  nothing  whatever 
suggestive  of  "  the  usual  mode  of  dyeing."  Gale  might 
as  well  say,  "  the  lake  was  dipped  in  blood,"  because,  "  as 
the  reference  is  to  dyeing,  so,  the  expression  must  be 
suited  to  the  usual  mode  of  dyeing."  If  Aristotle  had  a 
right  to  speak  of  dyeing  by  pressing  a  berry,  and  if  Hip- 
pocrates had  a  right  to  speak  of  dyeing  by  drops  falling^ 
why  is  Aristophanes  to  be  interdicted  from  speaking  of 
dyeing  by  hruisbig? 

The  tendency  to  fall  back  on  dipping  as  here,  and  else- 
where, manifested  needs  to  be  corrected. 


15G  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 


MODIFIED  MEANINGS  OUTGEOWTHS  OF  DTK 

TO   STAIN. 
"  Is  it  well  that  thou  hast  stained  thy  sword  with  the  army  of  the  Greeks  ?" 

"Ajax  is  represented  by  Sophocles  as  dipping  his  sword 
into  the  army  of  the  Greeks;"  so  says  Carson.  Had  any 
one  else  translated  izpoq  by  iiito,  none  would  have  frowned 
upon  the  extravagance  more  indignantly  than  Dr.  Carson. 
And  such  unwarranted  translations  to  force  in  dip^  by  an 
opponent,  would  have  brought  down  coals  of  fire  on  his 
head. 

As  swords  are  not  properly  dyed  with  blood,  but  only 
stained,  temporarily,  this  and  other  passages  may  be  re- 
garded as  exemplifying  that  modified  idea. 

TO    SMEAR. 

"  Playing  the  Aviot  and  playing  the  "¥»■>,  and  smeared  with  frog-colored 

washes." 

"  Magnes,  an  old  comic  poet  of  Athens,  used  the  Lydian 
music,  shaved  his  face,  and  smeared  it  over  with  tawny 
washes."  {Gale  and  Carson.)  The  Lydian  music  and  shav- 
ing the  face  are  introduced  through  some  misconception. 
The  passage  alludes  to  two  plays,  as  above  designated. 
What,  however,  especially  claims  attention  is  the  transla- 
tion of  j3a7rTo/i.£vw-  by  SMcar,  with  the  remark:  "Surely,  here, 
it  has  no  reference  to  its  primary  meaning.  The  face  of 
the  person  was  rubbed  with  the  wash.  By  this  example 
it  could  not  be  known  that  (Sd-ru)  ever  signifies  to  dip." 

Why  Dr.  Carson  should  so  unreservedly  exclude  dip, 
here,  and  insist  upon  its  introduction  in  other  passages,  I 
do  not  know.  "  The  allusion  is  to  the  art  of  dyeing,"  and 
why  we  are  not  compelled  "to  suit  the  expression  to  the 
most  usual  mode  of  dyeing"  docs  not  appear.  We  have, 
however,  the  translation — "/9a;rTw,  to  smear,  to  rub!" 


TO   TEMPER.  157 

TO   GILD. 

"  Having  gilded  poverty  thou  hast  appeared  rich." 

The  intimate  relation  between  dyeing  and  gilding  is 
obvious.  In  this  passage,  and  in  others,  the  thought  ex- 
pressed seems  to  have  passed  into  this  modification.  It  is 
the  case  of  a  person  who  had  become  wealthy  from  a  state 
of  poverty. 

TO   TEMPER. 
"Working  ....  tempers  with  cold  water." 

It  might,  at  first,  be  thought  that  "to  temper,"  as  a 
meaning  of  /?a-rcy,  should  be  traced  to  dip  rather  than  to 
dye;  but  the  tempering  of  metals  is  regulated  not  by  the 
act  of  dipping,  in  contradistinction  from  other  modes  of 
using  water  and  oil,  but  by  the  color  and  dye  of  the  metal ; 
I,  therefore,  trace  this  meaning  to  dyeing  rather  than  to 
dipping. 

"  The  razor  blade  is  tempered  by  heating  it  till  a  bright- 
ened part  appears  a  straw  color.  The  temper  of  penknives 
ought  not  to  be  higher  than  a  straiu  color.  Scissors  are 
heated  until  they  become  of  a  purple  color,  which  indicates 
their  proper  temper," — Micy.  Amcr.,  Art.  Cutlery. 

A  friend,  connected  with  one  of  the  most  highly  esteemed 
edge-tool  manufactories  in  the  country,  having  come  into 
my  study,  confirms  the  above  statements. 

As  the  tempering  of  metals  is  not  the  performance  of 
any  modal  act,  but  the  inducing  a  peculiar  condition  of 
the  metal,  in  the  accomplishment  of  which  water  and  oil 
are  used  as  agencies;  it  follows  that  these  fluids  should  be 
spoken  of,  in  this  connection,  as  instrumental  means  by 
which  an  end  is  to  be  secured,  and  not  as  elements  into 
which  an  object  is  to  be  dipped. 

Carson  says:  "No  one  who  has  seen  ahorse  shod  will 
be  at  a  loss  to  know  the  mode  of  the  application  of  water 
in  this  instance.     The  immersion  of  the  newly  formed 


158  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

shoe  in  water,  in  order  to  harden  the  metal,  is  expressed 
by  the  word  bajytcin.'" 

If  jSdzToj  means  to  "harden  the  metal,"  to  temper,  noth- 
ing is  more  certain  than  that  it  neither  does,  nor  can,  ex- 
press the  immersion  of  the  metal;  supposing  that  an  im- 
mersion took  place. 

The  admission  is  made  that  the  immersion  is  in  order  to 
harden;  how  facile  the  transition  to  express  directly  the 
eficct — to  tcm^pcr.  Such  transition  is  most  common;  why 
not  exemplified  in  this  word? 

As  for  the  necessity  of  dipping,  I  have  seen,  in  a  black- 
smith's shop,  in  routine  work,  sprinkling,  pouring,  and 
dipping,  all  used  within  about  ten  minutes. 


"  Tompercd  by  oil  it  is  softened." 

"jD^p  by  oil"  is  an  impossible  translation;  "c/ye  b}'  oil"  is 
equally  so;  temj^cr  by  oil  is  an  every  day-transaction.  "We 
seem  to  be  shut  np  to  this  translation. 

Whatever  plausibility  there  may  be  in  a  plea  for  dip- 
ping, when  the  dative,  espcciall}'  with  a  preposition,  is 
used,  there  is  none  with  the  genitive.  And  if,  in  this  case, 
the  oil  must  be  an  instrumental  means  t©  an  appropriate 
effect;  then  we  are  justified,  in  similar  circumstances,  in 
arguing  that  the  dative  is  used  instrumentally. 

It  is  clear  that  if  in  this  passage  pd^ru}  signifies  to  temper ^ 
and  the  tempering  should  be  by  dipping  into  oil,  yet,  this 
/?fi-rw  cannot  express  such  dipping.  Plain  as  this  is,  the 
contrary  is  so  often  assumed  that  the  statement  needs  rep- 
etition. In  any  case  the  oil  is  spoken  of  as  instrumental 
means. 

The  tempering  of  metals  by  water,  or  by  oil,  results  in 
characteristic  difibrences.  The  result  is  not  determined 
by  the  mode  of  application  of  these  lluids,  but  by  their 
peculiar  qualities;  hence  the  tempering  is  by  water  and  by 
oil,  whether  it  be  in  water,  or  in  oil,  or  otherwise. 


TO    IMBUE.  159 


TO    IMBUE. 


"  The  soul  is  imbued  by  the  thoughts  ;  imbue  it,  therefore,  by  the 
habitude  of  such  thoughts." 

"  Imbue"  is,  perhaps,  somewhat  too  strong  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  passage;  and  3'et  seems  to  be  the  word 
most  suitable,  on  the  whole,  to  this  and  kindred  cases. 

To  dip  involves  a  very  extravagant  figuring  by  whicli 
"  the  thoughts"  receive  personality,,  and  seizing  the  soul 
dip  it  into  the  dye-tub  !  Is  this  any  less  "  perversion  of 
taste"  than  "the  lake"  dipping? 

Gale  gives  an  active  form  to  the  phraseology,  "  the 
thoughts  dip  or  tincture  the  mind;"  but  he  has  excluded 
himself  from  the  use  of  "tincture;"  and,  besides,  this 
mode  of  translating  and  defining  by  "  dip  or  tincture," 
"  dip  or  immerse,"  is  very  unsatisfactory  in  a  critical  con- 
troversialist. 

Carson,  as  not  unfrecpiently,  exercises  a  sovereign  license 
in  the  treatment  of  the  passage.  His  substitution  is,  "  the 
thoughts  are  tinctured  by  the  mind."  A  statement  not 
calculated,  by  its  profundity,  to  enhance  in  any  very  emi- 
nent degree  the  reputation  of  the  imperial  philosopher. 

Carson  has  not  cut  himself  oft'  from  the  use  of  dye,  as 
has  Gale;  but  has  he  any  better  right  to  employ  "tinc- 
ture," here,  than  has  his  friend? 

Is  "  tincture"  used  as  entirely  synonymous  with  dye  ? 
If  so,  why  not  use  dye?  Those  who  insist  on  single,  bar- 
ren ideas,  as  running  through  tlie  whole  compass  of  a 
language,  for  long  ages,  should  magnify  their  work  by 
illustrating  it  in  their  practice.  "Tincture"  is  as  far  from 
being  used  as  the  mere  equivalent  o^ dye  as  is  smear,  stain, 
color,  and  it  is  just  because  of  its  diflerence  that  Dr.  Carson 
uses  it,  here,  to  the  rejection  of  dye;  we  cannot  allow  such 
rigidity  of  definition  and  such  looseness  of  translation. 

"  Tincture"  does  not  necessarily  involve  color,  much  less 
dye.  A  pharmaceutist  informs  me  that  some  "  tinctures" 
are  colorless.     A  passage   before   me   speaks  of  "  water 


160  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

being  tinctured  by  a  little  lemon-juice.''  Is  this  dyeing,  or 
coloring,  or  the  imparting  of  a  colorless  quality, — acidula- 
tion?  So,  in  the  passage  under  consideration,  it  is  not  the 
commnnication  of  color  which  is  spoken  of,  but  of  quality, 
character. 

A  habitude  of  thinking  imparts  a  quality  or  character  to 
the  soul  kindred  to  its  own. 


"  Imbued  to  the  bottom  with  integrity." 

This  is  the  summing  up  of  the  character  of  a  man  un- 
corrupted  by  pleasure;  unbroken  by  misfortune;  undis- 
turbed by  envyings  and  jealousies;  triumphant  in  self-con- 
trol— "  imbued  to  the  bottom  luith  intcgritf/." 

Dip  is  out  of  the  question.  Dye  is  as  little  in  place. 
Integrity,  justice,  has  no  dyeing  qualities  any  more  than 
has  pure  water.  Its  glory  is  to  be  void  of  color;  to  exhibit 
a  transparent  pureness. 

Gale  is,  again,  hampered  and  confused  by  his  erroneous 
conception  of  the  word;  "dip'd,  as  it  were,  in  and  swal- 
lowed up  with  Justice;  that  is  perfectly  just :  as  we  say, 
persons  given  up  to  their  pleasures  and  vices,  are  immersed 
in  or  swallowed  up  with  pleasures  or  wickedness." 

All  this  mixing  up  of  things  that  differ,  shows,  1.  The 
error  of  limiting  /3a-rw  to  dijj.  2.  The  error  of  supposing 
that  jSdTzzu)  can  mean,  at  the  same  time,  to  dip,  and,  also, 
to  swallow  up  and  to  immerse.  And,  3.  The  error  of  con- 
founding the  usage  of  /5a-rco  and  ^ar.ri'^u),  now  transferring 
dipping  from  the  former  to  the  latter,  and  now  claiming, 
in  return,  mcrsing  to  be  handed  over  from  the  latter  to 
the  former. 

ISTo  passage  can  be  adduced  in  Greek  where  /Saxrw,  or,  in 
English,  where  dip,  signifies  to  be  "  immersed  or  swallowed 
up  in  pleasures,  or  wickedness,"  or  in  anything  else. 

This  explanation  is  not  satisfactory  to  Carson  while  he 
offers  nothing  better.  "I  would  not  explain  this,  with  Dr. 
Gale,  'dip'd,  as  it  were,  in  or  swallowed  up  with  justice.' 


TO    IMBUE.  161 

Justice  is  here  represented  as  a  coloring  liquid,  which 
imbues  the  person  who  is  dipped  in  it.  It  communicates 
its  qualities  as  in  the  operation  of  dyeing.  The  figure  can 
receive  no  illustration  from  the  circumstance  that  'persons 
given  up  to  their  pleasures  and  vices  are  said  to  be  immersed 
or  swallowed  up  with  pleasures  or  wickedness.'  The  last 
figure  has  a  reference  to  the  primary  meaning  of  /3d-rw, 
and  points  to  the  drowning  efi:octs  of  liquids;  the  former 
refers  to  the  secondary  meaning  of  the  word,  and  has  its 
resemblance  in  the  coloring  effects  of  a  liquid  dye.  The 
virtuous  man  is  to  be  dipped  to  be  dyed  more  deeply  with 
justice ;  the  vicious  man  is  drowned  or  ruined  by  his  im- 
mersion." 

Dr.  Carson  speaks  as  though  this  honest  man  were  to  be 
dipped  "  to  the  bottom"  of  the  dye-tab^  instead  of  imbued 
to  the  bottom  of  his  own  soul. 

Such  extravagant  interpretations,  manifestly  groundless 
and  framed  to  meet  a  case,  will  prepare  us  to  appreciate 
others  of  like  characteristics  in  connection  with  i3a-Tc!^aj. 


"Beware  of  Csesarism,  lest  you  be  imbued  by  it." 

"  Don't  make  the  former  emperors  the  pattern  of  your 
actions,  lest  you  are  infected  or  stained,  or  as  it  were  dip- 
ped and  dyed,  namely,  in  mistakes  and  vices." — Gale. 

This  road  to  dipping,  through  "infection,"  and  "stain- 
ing," is  rather  roundabout,  and  hardly  worth  the  trouble 
of  passing  over,  inasmuch  as,  after  thus  reaching  "  dip- 
ping," the  Doctor  makes  no  tarrying,  but  passes  on  to 
"  di/eing." 

This  is  another  illustration  of  the  inconsistency  of  Bap- 
tist writers  in  afiSrmino;  that  a  word  has  but  one  meaning 
through  Greek  literature,  and,  then,  availing  themselves 
of  the  use  of  half  a  dozen  different  meanino^s  whenever 
the  exigency  of  the  case  requires  it. 

Carson  is  never  embarrassed  by  any  difiiculty;  the  knot 
which  his  principles  cannot  untie,  is  always  resolved  by 

11 


162  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

the  edge  of  his  knife.  When  neither  clipping  nor  dyeing 
will  answer  his  purpose,  he,  very  sovereignly,  asking  per- 
mission of  none,  adds  to  or  takes  from  these  agencies  at 
will.  "  He  uses  the  same  word,  also,  when  the  dye  injures 
what  it  colors.  He  cautions  against  bad  example,  lest  you 
he  infected^  The  notion  of  a  dye  injuring  the  fabric  is  that 
of  Carson,  not  of  Antoninus.  To  make  injury  to  the  fabric 
the  basis  of  the  interpretation,  is  to  go  entirely  beyond 
the  record.  A  dye  capable  of  giving  a  good  or  bad  color 
is  one  thing;  a  dyeing  material  which  benefits  or  injures, 
apart  from  the  color,  the  object  dyed,  is  quite  another 
matter. 

"  To  infect"  is  a  translation  to  which  Dr.  Carson  has  no 
right  so  long  as  he  says  that  /?a-Tw  has  but  two  meanings, 
to  dip,  to  dye;  "  to  infect"  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other. 
As  conjoined  with  Cccsarism.,  and  regarded  as  receiving  the 
contagion  embodied  in  that  word,  it  may  be  so  translated. 
"We  not  only  have  no  objection  to  the  principle,  that  a 
leading  word  may  embody  the  sentiment  of  a  phrase,  and 
be  treated  as  its  representative ;  but  we  do  most  cordially 
accept  of  it,  and  shall  insist  upon  it  in  eases  where  Dr. 
Carson  may  give  but  reluctant  consent.  Infection  is  a 
consequence  of  being  imbued  with  Cffisarism.  There  is 
no  dj^eing,  but  a  transference  of  moral  qualities.  The 
idea  of  color  is  lost. 

The  qualities  of  honor  or  dishonor,  of  truth  or  falsehood, 
of  justice  or  injustice,  of  integrity  or  treacherj^,  are  as  dis- 
tinguishable as  the  colors  of  the  rainbow;  but  they  are  not 
colors;  and  when  jSd-ruj  is  used  to  express  the  communica- 
tion of  such  qualities,  language  will  no  more  consent  to  be 
chained  to  the  dye-tub  than  will  Samson  yield  his  strength 
under  the  fettering  influence  of  the  "seven  green  AX'ythes." 
Imbue  expresses  this  modification  of  thought,  and  is  equally 
applicable  to  any,  quality,  good  or  bad. 


"  Adopt  the  character  of  one  imbued." 

The  interpretation  of  this  passage  has  caused  no  little 


TO    IMBUE.  163 

embarrassment,  and  given  rise  to  various  translations  and 
expositions. 

Professor  Stuart  quotes  and  comments  thus:  ""Why 
dost  thou  call  th3^self  a  Stoic?  Why  dost  thou  deceive 
the  multitude?  Why  dost  thou,  being  a  Jew,  play  the 
hypocrite  with  the  Greek?  Dost  thou  not  see  how  any 
one  is  called  a  Jew,  how  a  Syrian,  how  an  Egyptian?  And 
when  we  see  any  one  acting  with  both  parties,  we  are  wont 
to  say:  He  is  no  Jew,  but  plan's  the  hypocrite.  Eut  when 
he  takes  on  him  the  state  and  feelings  of  one  who  is  washed 
or  baptized,  and  has  attached  himself  to  the  sect,  then  he 
is  in  truth  and  is  called  a  Jew.  But  we  are  r.apa^a-Tlarai^ 
transgressors  as  to  our  baptism,  or  falsely 'baptized,  if  we 
are  like  a  Jew  in  pretence  and  something  else  in  reality." 

"A  great  variety  of  opinions  have  been  given  on  this 
passage.  Some  think  that  Arrian,  here,  refers  to  Chris- 
tians; but  I  see  no  good  ground  for  such  a  supposition. 
De  W^ette  sa3's :  '  The  passage  is  too  obscure  to  gather  any- 
thing certain  from  it.' 

"  I  can  scarcely  doubt  that  the  writer  refers  to  the  Jew- 
ish ablutions.  Paulus  has  endeavored  to  explain  away  the 
force  of  the  whole  passage.  Bauer  suggests  that  /Sc/Ja/i/zeyoy 
may  refer  to  a  Christian  whom  Arrian  confounds  with  a^ 
Jew.  On  the  whole  I  conclude  this  to  be  a  difficult  and 
obscure  passage,  in  some  respects." 

Dr.  Halley  (p.  846)  thinks  that  reference  is  made  to 
Christian  baptism,  and  that  Arrian,  a  heathen,  has  failed 
to  discriminate  between  /Sa-rco  and  ^ar^ri^oj,  as  does  the  New 
Testament. 

Gale  presents  this  view:  "After  baptism,  and  the  public 
profession,  they  were  accounted,  and  really  were,  true  Jews 
or  rather  Christians." 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Arrian  confounded  either  the 
distinction  between  f^d-Tm  and  pjarriZu),  or  that  between  Jews 
and  Christians.  The  supposition  is  violent  and  without 
any  real  necessity,  so  far  as  this  passage  is  concerned. 

Attention  has  been  directed,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  ex- 
clusively to  the  primary  meaning  of /Jdrrrw,  or  to  a  meaning 


164  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

(connecting  it  with  baptism)  of  which  it  is  not  possessed. 
The  chie  to  the  interpretation  lies,  I  think,  in  the  second- 
ary meaning  and  its  modification. 

I  would  translate :  "  When  one  takes  up  the  character 
(state  or  condition)  of  one  imbued  and  convinced,  then,  he 
is  in  reality  and  in  name  a  Jew." 

When  the  passage  is  considered  alongside  of  those  al- 
ready examined,  can  there  be  a  reasonable  doubt  that  this 
is  the  true  interpretation  ?  Usage  sanctions  the  translation, 
and  the  passage  is  made  luminous  by  its  application. 

The  notion  of  Jewish  ablutions  or  of  Christian  bap- 
tism is  quite  inadmissible — 1,  because  of  lack  of  evidence; 
and,  2,  because  they  render  no  service  when  introduced. 
Kitual  ablutions  have  no  power  to  discriminate  between 
real  and  assumed  character ;  they  have  no  power  to  un- 
mask a  hypocrite  or  to  stamp  honesty  on  profession;  and 
this  is  the  point  made  by  Arrian.  The  "  character  of  an 
imbued  man"  is  a  positive  and  known  quantity;  the  char- 
acter of  a  Jewishly  washed,  or  Christianly  baptized  man, 
is  a  variable  and  unknown  quantit}^ 

The  interpretation  is  farther  established  by  a  reference 
to  the  language  of  Plato,  lamblichus,  Theo.  SmyrnseuSy 
and  others,  who  speak  of  the  efi'ect  of  a  thorough  training 
and  instruction  as  a  /9a^ij,  a  dye.  Kot  hereby  expressing  a 
dipping  (Gale),  nor  a  coloring  (Carson),  but  a  distinguish- 
ing and  abiding  quality  of  the  mind. 

The  legitimacy  of  the  use  of  [idTtru)  and  /3a>ij  to  denote 
the  communication  of  some  quality  devoid  of  color  needs 
no  vindication  as  an  abstract  proposition ;  the  evidence  for 
the  usage  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  before  us. 


"That  they  may  receive  the  laws  in  the  best  manner,  as  a  dye." 

Plato,  having  described  the  great  pains  taken  by  dyers 
in  order  to  secure  a  dye  which  would  be  unchangeable  and 
ineradicable,  applies  this  to  the  pains  taken  in  training 
soldiers,  which  he  says  is  in  order  to  their  receiving  the 


TO    IMBUE.  165 

laws  or  ordinances  like  a  dye — wtick  cannot  be  washed 
out  by  pleasure,  grief,  fear,  &c 

By  this  comparison,  made  between  a  military  training 
and  dyeing,  Plato  does  not  represent  the  soldier  as  either 
dipped  or  colored;  but  indicates  the  thorough  preparation 
which  is  practised  in  both  cases,  and  the  similarity  of  re- 
sults, so  far  as  inducing  a  permanent  quality  was  con- 
cerned, namely,  permanent  color  in  the  one  case,  and 
permanent,  soldierly  character  in  the  other. 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  language  of  lamblichus  and 
Theo.  Smyrnseus,  when  speaking  of  the  effects  of  a  well- 
conducted  course  of  instruction.  "  As  dyers  cleansing 
beforehand."  "Afterwards  they  receive  instruction  as  a 
dye."  Pupils  in  the  school  and  soldiers  in  the  gymnasium 
receive  their  training  like  a  dye,  being  imbued  with  abid- 
ing qualities. 

How  much  wisdom  would  there  be,  on  the  basis  of  this 
allusion  to  a  dye,  to  convert  the  school  of  Pythagoras  and 
the  gymnasium  into  places  filled  with  dye-vats,  where 
philosophers  and  drill  sergeants  should  be  busily  engaged 
in  dipping  pupils  and  soldiers  into  their  appropriate  dye  ? 

Extravagance  like  to  this  we  shall  often  find  in  the  in- 
terpretations of  Baptist  writers,  rather  than  abandon  the 
notion  of  a  cast-iron  inflexibility  which  they  have  attrib- 
uted to  a  Greek  word. 

BAnTAI. 

This  is  the  title  of  a  play  written  by  Eupolis,  much  the 
greater  part  of  Mdiich  has  been  lost. 
The  word  also  occurs  in  Javenal  ii,  92. 

Talia  secreta  coluerunt  Orgia  t^da 
Cecropiam  soliti  Baptce  lassare  Cotytto. 
lUe  supercilium  madida  fuligine  tinctum. 

The  annotator  on  this  passage  says : 

Baptce.     'Ano  to'  ^diTTeiv,  lavarx  dicti:    quia  aqua,   calidd 


166  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

tingebantur  illis  Sacr,is  Cotyttus  initiati.  Polit.  Miscell. 
cap.  10.  PoiTO,  Baptse,  titulus  Comoeclife  Eupoliclis  Poetse, 
in  qua  viros  Atlienis  acl  imitationem  foeminarnm  saltantes 
inducit,  et  psaltriam  lassantes.  Vet.  Schol.  Cum  autem 
Baptarum  lasciviam  Eupolis  proscvipssisset,  ab  illis  in  mare 
pr£ecij)itatus  et  siibmersus  fuisse  dicitur. 

Feeling  a  special  interest  in  this  word  as  appropriated 
to  designate  a  particular  class  of  persons,  and  finding  the 
materials  out  of  which  to  form  a  conclusive  judgment  as 
to  its  precise  usage  quite  limited;  I  ventured  to  ask  infor- 
mation from  others  who  might  be  supposed  to  know  all 
that  was  knowable  in  the  case,  and  whose  scholarship  gave 
them  a  right  to  speak  so  as  to  challenge  the  respectful  at- 
tention of  all.  The  information  sought  was  grounded 
solely  on  the  interest  of  those  addressed  in  the  solution 
of  a  purely  classical  question,  and  neither  of  the  respond- 
ents had  the  remotest  idea  of  the  special  inquiry  in  which 
I  was  engaged.  While  I  do  not  feel  that  I  have  any  right, 
at  all,  to  mention  the  names  of  the  writers,  yet  I  am  sure 
that  they  would  not  object  to  the  use  of  their  statements 
as  showing  the  position  of  a,  confessedly,  obscure  question, 
namely:  What  is  the  precise  import  which  should  be  at- 
tached to  the  6i  ^dTzrat  of  Eupolis  ? 

The  following  is  one  of  the  replies  kindly  returned  to 
inquiries  bearing  on  this  question  : 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  note  on  Juvenal  ii,  92,  refers 
to  the  same  persons  whom  Eupolis  calls  Baptse.  An  old 
scholiast  on  that  passage  of  Juvenal  gives  us  valuable 
information  concerning  the  play.  'Baptre  ergo  molles, 
quo  titulo  Eupolis  comoediam  scripsit  ob  quam  ab  Alci- 
biade,  quern  imprimis  perstrinxerat  necatus  est.' 

"  The  latter  part  of  this  scholium  appears  in  another 
shape,  as  edited  by  George  Valla,  in  the  15th  century, 
thus :  '  Ob  quam  Alcibiades — necuit  ipsum  in  mare  prte- 
cipitando,  dicans,  "ut  tu  me  in  theatris  madefecisti,  nunc 
ego  te  in  mare  madefaciam."  ' 

"  A  scholiast  on  the  rhetorician  or  sophist  Aristides  (ed. 


TO   IMBUE.  167 

Dindorf  3.  444),  gives  the  following  lines  from  some  one, 
which  must  refer  to  the  same  event : 

Bd-T£<;  fjL   iv  Ou/jJXrifftVj  iycb  di  as  xuiiaai  irovroo 
Ba^Ti^ojv  oXiffu)  i/d/iafft  -Kixpuripotq. 

"Where  (id-zm,  j3a-T{i^(o,  answer  to  the  madefacio  of  the 
scholiast  on  Juvenal.  And  this  makes  it  altogether  likely 
that  ^dnrac  meant  dippers  or  ivashers  rather  than  di/ers.  But 
the  thing  is  uncertain,  opinions  differ,  and  I  cannot  give 
you  absolute  light  as  to  the  original  sense  of  Baptse. 

"  1.  Probably  Eupolis  had  it  for  his  object  to  satirize  the 
secret  orgies  of  Alci'biades  and  his  vicious  companions,  by 
directly  introducing  on  the  stage  the  orgies  of  the  Baptce, 
priests  of  Cotytto,  who  was  then  worshipped  at  Corinth, 
with  which  state  Athens  was  then  at  war,  and  vv^as  not  yet 
worshipped  at  Athens. 

"  2.  Bd-~7jq  can  mean  tinctor,  dyer,  as  well  as  dipper  or 
washer.  Some  learned  men  have  supposed,  that,  as  wash- 
ings or  lustrations  were  common  to  all  rites,  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  distinctive  name  would  be  derived  from  this  custom 
in  this  case.  But  they  fail  of  explaining  the  other  signifi- 
cation from  dyeing,  and  have  nothing  but  hypothesis  to 
build  on. 

"  3.  I  have  called  the  Baptse  priests  of  Cotytto;  probably 
it  would  be  safer  to  call  them  worshippers,  'sacricolae.' " 

Another,  and  wholly  independent  response,  is  as  follows : 

"1.  I  remark  that  the  Bapice  of  Eupolis  is  not  extant; 
that  a  few  lines,  only,  have  been  preserved,  and  that  the 
fragments  of  ^upolis  are  to  be  found  in  Meineke's  Frag- 
ments of  the  Greek  Comedians. 

"  2.  The  iSdTrrat  wcre  effeminates  who  in  many  respects 
imitated  w^omen.  They  were  accustomed  to  paint,  or  stain 
their  faces  and  eyelids.  It  is  sufiiciently  well  known  that 
the  play  of  Eupolis,  called  'Oi  Bd-Tai,  was  written  to  expose 
and  censure  the  licentiousness  of  such  characters. 

"  3.  The  verb  j^dTzru)  is  used  freely  in  the  sense  of  to  dye, 
to  stain,  or  to  paint — so  the  Latin  tingo.     The  application 


168  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

of  the  derivative  noun  in  tlie  play  of  Eupolis  is  to  the  effem- 
inate practice  above  mentioned. 

"  4.  Considering  the  character  of  Cotytto,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  such  is  also  the  meaning  of  the  word  as 
applied  to  her  priests — her  priests  were  [id-rai. 

"  5.  The  annotator  on  Juvenal  is  correct  when  he  gives 
^dTzru)  as  equivalent  in  this  respect  to  iingo.  And  iingo  is 
quite  correctly  used  in  respect  to  both  bathing  and  stain- 
ing with  color,  and,  like  ^dr.zco^  sometimes  to  paint." 

"  In  the  note  the  Latin  is  modern,  but  the  use  of  the 
word  is  classical.  But  the  first  part  of  the  note  concerns 
a  different  thing  from  the  latter  part,  and  they  are  not  to 
be  confounded.  For  the  former  of  the  two  statements  the 
authority  quoted  is  Politian,  an  eminent  scholar  of  the  fif- 
teenth century.  In  this  note  the  two  things  mentioned 
are  brought  together,  most  likely,  from  the  fact  that 
Juvenal  satirieall}^  presents  the  Baptse  as  worshippers  of 
Cotytto,  with  poetic  if  not  with  historical  truth." 

Professor  Ewing  [Essay  on  Baptism,  Glasgow)  makes 
the  following  remark: 

"The  fellows  called  ^d-ratin  Juvenal  ii,  92,  were  not  so 
called  because  they  had  been  immersed  in  a  dyer's  vat 
(although  they  would  have  been  well  served  had  they  been 
so  treated),  but  because  they  were  'painted,  from  (idnrw  to 
paint,  that  is  to  lay  on  colors." 

Robinson,  Greek  Arch.,  p.  317.  '^Ko-orrj^,  Cotytto,  her 
priests  were  called  (id-rm,  from  pdr^rttv,  to  paint." 

It  will  be  perceived  that  these  eminent  scholars,  on  the 
question,  "  To  which  branch  of /3cf-rw,  to  clip  or  to  dye,  should 
[idr.rai  be  traced?"  are  inclined  to  take  different  views;  the 
one  leaning  to  dip,  the  other  to  dye;  yet  neither  of  them 
disposed  to  insist  upon  the  modal  act  of  dipping,  or  the 
technical  process  of  dyeing. 

It  is  certain  that  the  word  might  be  traced  to  that  side 
of  ^d-roj  which  exhibits  the  use  of  an  uncolored  fluid,  and 
in  its  use  exhibit  only  a  lustral  washing,  which  might  be 
administered  as  properly  by  sprinkling  "  warm  water"  as  by 


TO   IMBUE.  169 

dipping  into  cold  water ;  or  it  might  be  traced  to  that  side 
where  we  find  a  colored  fluid,  while  the  facts  showed,  1,  a 
bapting,  a  dyeing  without  any  dipping,  the  modal  act  hav- 
ing passed  into  pressing,  bruising,  sprinkling,  and  thus 
entirely  disappearing;  or,  2,  a  bapting,  a  (\.yQmg,  loithout 
any  color,  but  simply  the  communication  of  a  quality  or 
trait  of  character. 

If  the  statement  of  "  dyeing  without  coloring"  seems, 
on  its  face,  to  be  paradoxical,  yet,  it  is  no  more  so  than  the 
earlier  change — "dijDping  by  sprinkling."  And,  on  con- 
sideration, it  will  be  adjudged  to, be  as  philosophical  as  it 
is  paradoxical. 

To  cbje  is  to  communicate  a  quality,  the  specific  quality 
of  color  ;  but  there  are  qualities,  devoid  of  color,  which  are 
communicable,  and  which  from  their  nature  are  associated 
with  color,  spots,  stains,  the  communication  of  which  qual- 
ities, by  the  most  facile  extension  of  the  word,  might  be 
represented  by  dye.  Dr.  Gale  says,  "  Stains  on  linen,  or 
anything  white,  take  from  its  beauty  and  clearness;  so  ill 
reports,  &c. ,  lessen  and  impair  the  purity  of  a  man's  repu- 
tation, and  are  to  it  what  stains  are  to  clean  linen."  Again, 
there  are  qualities  without  color,  such  as  Justice,  Integ- 
rity, Honesty,  which  by  their  pureness  are  not  conceived 
of  by  any  color,  but  by  the  absence  of  all  color,  absolute 
whiteness,  which  yet  may,  under  the  demands  of  language 
necessitating  the  extension  of  the  meaning  of  words,  be 
spoken  of  by  the  term  dye;  quality  is  communicated,  but 
not  of  color.  And  the  facts  of  usage,  which  have  been 
already  considered,  show  that  ^dr.ru)  was  applied  to  the 
imaginary  staining  of  Csesarism  and  to  the  unspotted 
pureness  of  an  absolute  integrity.  Under  this  usage  the 
Baptoe  of  Cotytto  would  be  her  priests  who  imbue  with 
Cotyttoism,  or  her  disciples  imbued  by  Cotyttoism. 

The  result  of  a  general  consideration  of  the  elements 
entering  into  a  determination  of  the  meaning  of  the  word 
^dnrai^  would  present  several  words  as  worthy  of  thought- 
ful consideration,  among  which  appear — the  dipped,  the 
washed,  the  dyed,  the  imbued. 


170  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

The  dipped. — Dr.  Conant  adopts  this  translation,  3'ot 
not  without  intimating  that  he  was  not  entirely  satisfied 
with  it. 

I  am  not  aware  of  any  special  reason  which  can  he 
oflered  in  its  support.  If  these  persons  dipped  their 
bodies  into  water,  or  were  dipped  by  one  another,  were 
they  the  only  persons  who  did  so  ?  Is  there  any  reason- 
able foundation  for  grounding  a  distinguishing  title,  sepa- 
rating them  from  all  others,  on  such  practice?  But,  again, 
if  the  practice  of  dipping  the  person,  more  or  less,  into 
water  gave  origin  amojig  the  Greeks  to  the  title  i3d--at, 
who  shall,  against  the  Greeks,  set  up  the  title  (ia-TLdrat  as 
designating  a  similar  class  of  people?  Unquestionably, 
the  proper  word  to  use  in  such  case  is  that  of  Bapicrs,  and 
not  Baptists;  and  thus,  again,  we  are  brought,  face  to  face, 
with  the  error  of  our  Baptist  friends  in  attempting  to  con- 
vert a  bapting  into  a  baptizing,  a  dipping  into  an  immersion. 

If  Dr.  Conant  is  right  in  translating  /Sa-rat  dippers,  then 
Baptists  are  wrong  in  their  name  as  denoting  their  mode 
of  performing  the  Christian  rite,  and  in  attempting  to 
substitute  a  bapiing  (Egyptian  or  Cecropian  in  form)  for 
our  most  holy  baptism. 

The  WASHED.  —  The  opinion  that  a  ivashing,  in  some 
form,  is  designated  by  this  word  seems  to  have  met  with 
considerable  favor. 

The  annotator  on  Juvenal  says  that  it  is  from  ftdizTef^,  to 
ivash,  and  that  those  who  were  initiated  into  these  m^'s- 
teries  were  washed  {iingebaniur)  with  warm  water.  Valla 
expresses  the  idea  using  madcfacio,  to  make  wet. 

The  Scholiast,  who  quotes  Alcibiades,  may  be  adduced 
as  favoring  a  dipping,  or  wetting,  or  washing,  according 
to  our  views  derived  from  other  quarters.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  the  opposition  between  jSd-zsq  and  fianzi'^wv 
makes  the  latter  the  stronger  word.  The  difference  is  such 
as  between  dipping  and  mersing,  drowning. 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  the  verb  in  the  epi- 
gram is  used  in  the  same  sense  as  the  derivative  noun  in 


THE  DYED.  171 

the  comedy;  it  may  be  a  congruity  purely  verbal  and  not 
of  sense  which  is  designed. 

The  meaning,  "washings,  lustrations,"  has  been  ob- 
jected to  on  the  ground  that  these  were  common  things, 
and  could  not  be  supposed  to  give  rise  to  a  distinctive 
name  for  any  class  of  persons. 

The  force  of  this  objection  is  tacitly  admitted  by  the 
author  of  the  first  communication;  bat  his  reply  is — no 
adequate,  positive  vindication  of  any  meaning  based  on 
dyeing  has  been  presented.  If  this  should  be  done,  the 
force  of  the  objection  will  have  full  operation. 

The  dyed. — This  meaning,  while  having  no  less  claim 
than  those  preceding,  on  general  grounds,  can  present  a 
stronger  special  plea  than  either.  The  evidence  that  these 
persons  did  dye  is  more  complete  than  that  they  did  either 
dip  or  loash.  Dyeing  was  a  well-known  characteristic  of 
this  class  of  persons,  and  Juvenal  expressly  states  this  as 
one  of  their  practices.  There  is  no  difliculty,  therefore, 
either  from  the  word  used,  or  from  the  facts  of  the  case, 
in  this  particular,  in  employing  "the  dyed"  as  the  trans- 
lation of  6i  ^dr.rat.  But  there  are  two  difficulties,  notwith- 
standing, which  confront  us.  1.  All  "dyed"  persons  did 
not  belong  to  the  class  spoken  of,  and  therefore  this  mean- 
ing lies  under  the  same  disability  as  these  preceding. 
Dyeing  was  a  very  common  practice,  as  well  as  "  dipping," 
and  "washing,"  and,  therefore,  could  not  be  employed  to 
denote  a  limited  class  among  those  to  whom  the  character- 
istic was  common,  2.  While  dyeing  is  spoken  of  as  one 
feature  marking  these  people,  it  is  only  spoken  of  as  one 
among  many  others,  and  those  others  immensely  more 
important  as  elements  of  character. 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  "  the  dyed  ones"  could 
exhaust  the  import  of  Jt  ^dr.rar,  and  whatever  fitness  it 
might  have  in  its  bearing  upon  a  single  particular,  and 
that  of  the  least  possible  importance,  it  cannot  meet  the 
case  except  as  regarded  as  a  finger-board  pointing  on 
toward  that  which  it  is  unable  of  itself,  directly,  to  ex- 


172  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

press.  But  in  that  case  it  cannot  retain  its  original  limita- 
tion of  meaning,  but  must  attract  to  itself,  by  its  association, 
a  newness  and  a  fulness  of  meaning  not  before  possessed. 
In  other  words,  the  suggestion  of  color  is  lost,  merged  in 
other,  more  momentous,  elements  of  character. 

The  imbued. — The  vital  element  to  be  regarded  in  the 
interpretation  of  this  word  is  found  in  the  fact  that  it 
designates  a  limited  class  of  profoundly  marked  character. 
Neither  "the  dipped,"  nor  "the  washed,"  nor  "the  dyed," 
in  their  own  proper  meaning  meets  such  a  case.  Un- 
doubtedly either  of  these  expressions  might  be  modified 
and  extended  by  appropriation;  but  in  the  case  before  us 
the  one  most  likely  to  be  selected  for  such  service  is 
the  last. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  these  Baptae  introduced  some 
peculiarity  in  the  process  or  extent  of  the  dyeing.  Juvenal 
may  refer  to  this  where,  after  describing  the  dyed  eyebrow^ 
he  adds,  '^pingitque  iremmfes  attolleus  oculos."  The  painting 
of  the  eyelids,  or  the  eyelashes,  may  have  been  introduced 
by  these  persons,  and  thus  made  their  class  emphatically 
"  the  dyed  or  painted  ones."  But  if  such  were  the  origin, 
and  primary  force  of  this  term,  it  certainly  did  not  con- 
tinue to  have  such  narrowness  of  import.  Juvenal,  cer- 
tainly, did  not  so  use  the  term.  Eupolis,  almost  as  certainly, 
did  not.  Now,  embody  the  idea  in  wdiat  one  term  we  may, 
the  fact  is  certain  that  "  the  Baptae"  were  those,  priests 
or  disciples,  or  both,  who  were  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
Cotytto,  "the  Goddess  of  Immodesty." 

Whatever  Baptse  may  have  originally  expressed,  or  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  immediate  exciting  cause  to  give 
this  word  such  direction,  it  was  appropriated  to  designate 
a  class  of  persons  singularly  debased  and  debauched ;  ef- 
feminate, voluptuous,  and  licentious — priests  and  people 
of  a  dancing  courtesan,  deified. 

In  view  of  a  fact  like  this,  it  becomes  a  matter  of  very 
secondary  interest  to  know  from  which  stem  of  /Jarrw  this 
derivative  proceeds,  for  in  either  case,  as  dipped  or  dyed^  it 


THE   IMBUED.  173 

must  accept  the  meaning  wliicli  results  from  appropria- 
tion. Whatever  may  have  been  the  original  meaning  of 
the  term  "  Methodist,"  or  whatever  may  have  been  the 
original  ground  of  its  application,  such  original  meaning 
and  ground  of  application  very  speedily  disappeared  from 
the  appropriated  title,  "the  Methodists."  The  same  is 
true  of  the  term  Quaker  as  ai^plied  to  "the  Quakers,"  Can. 
there  be  any  doubt  that  "  6i  l^dnrac"  is  to  be  explained  in. 
the  same  way,  and  that  the  Baptge  designated  neither  "the 
dipped"  into  water,  nor  "  the  dyed"  with  blackened  brows, 
but  those  who  were  dipped  deeply  into,  dyed  in,  imbued 
with,  Cotytto-ism? 

In  a  word,  this  derivative  expresses  not  quality  of  color, 
but  has  passed  on  to  express  quality  of  character. 

This  investigation  as  to  the  meaning  of  ^dizru)  appears  to 
justify  the  following  conclusions: 

1.  The  severe  limitation  of  this  word  to  the  two  mean- 
ings to  dip,  to  dye,  is  no  better  grounded  than  the  limitation 
to  a  single  meaning,  to  dip. 

2.  The  natural  and  prevailing  syntax  used  with  ftdTzrcu  to 
dip  is  to  place  the  element,  into  which  the  dipping  takes 
place,  in  the  accusative  with  ^:?;  while  f^d-rw  to  dye,  as  nat- 
urally and  prevailingly,  requires  the  element,  by  which 
the  coloring  influence  is  to  be  exerted,  to  be  put  in  the 
dative,  usually,  without  a  preposition. 

3.  BdTZTU),  after  having  exercised  its  powers  in  communi- 
cating the  quality  of  color  through  dyeing,  staining,  paint- 
ing, passes  on  a  step  farther,  and  expresses  the  communi- 
cation of  qualities  which  are  devoid  of  color. 

And  in  this  extreme  development  yS^Trrco  makes  its  nearest 
approach  to  assimilation  with  /Jarrrc'Cw. 


174  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

TINGO. 

ITS   MEANING   AND    USAGE. 

The  meaning  of  tingo  is  so  well  understood  and  so  uni- 
versally accepted,  that  the  passages  about  to  be  adduced 
are  not  cited,  so  much,  to  show  what  is  the  meaning  of 
that  word  as  to  reflect  light  upon  the  more  controverted 
Greek  word.  ^ 

If  in  any  language  we  meet  with  a  word  whose  usage  in 
a  particular  sense  is  .questioned ;  and  we  find  the  corre- 
sponding word  in  another  language  clearl}'  used  in  such 
sense;  the  usage,  before  doubtful,  becomes  greatly  con- 
firmed, if  not  established.  The  usage  of  pdnrw  and  tingo  is 
as  nearly  identical,  under  every  phase,  as  the  usage  of  two 
words,  in  ditFerent  languages,  could  well  be.  They  mutu- 
ally illuminate  each  other.  A  few  passages  will  abun- 
dantly illustrate  this  statement. 

PKIMAET. 
TO  DIP. 

Spongia  in  aceto  tincta Celsus. 

Sponges  dipped  in  vinegar. 

Tingunt  faces  in  amne. Ovid. 

They  dip  the  torches  in  the  river. 
Primumqne  pedis  vestigia  tinxi.  ....     Ovid. 

And  first  1  dip  the  soles  of  my  feet. 
Protiniis  eductam  navalibus  ajquore  tingi,  .         .         .      Ovid. 
Aptarique  snis  pinuni  jubet  armamentis. 

And  orders  the  vessel  to  be  dipped  in  the  sea. 
Arctos  metuentes  aequore  tingi Virgil. 

The  Bears  fearing  to  be  dipped  in  the  sea. 
Ncc  tingnerct  celeres  plantas  aequore.  .         .         .     Virgil. 

JSfor  would  she  dip  her  swift  feet  in  the  sea. 

These  passages  are  too  clearly  self-interpretative  to  need 
any  comment. 


TO   WET.  175 

"  The  Pine,"  or  vessel,  of  which  Ovid  speaks  as  being 
"  dipped  in  the  sea"  when  launched,  and  which,  then, 
rises  again  to  its  natural  position  on  the  water,  shows  that 
an  object  may  be  dipped,  without  being  covered,  when  no 
part  is  specified.  It  illustrates,  also,  the  limitation  of  the 
use  of  tlngo,  as  applied  to  ships,  compared  with  mergo. 
Tingo  applies  to  the  momentary  descent  of  a  vessel  into 
the  water,  beyond  what  is  usual,  in  the  launching,  but  is 
never  used  to  express  a  permanent,  indefinite,  or  sunken 
condition  of  a  vessel.  The  same  distinction  obtaining  as  to 
the  usage  of  these  words,  in  this  respect,  as  in  the  case  of 

^dTzrcj  and  /Sarrt'Cw. 

The  act  expressed  by  tingo  is  one  which,  evidently,  car- 
ries its  object  only  temporarily  and  superficially  within  a 
fluid.  The  dipping,  by  launching,  spoken  of  by  Ovid,  is 
illustrated  by  the  following  quotation :  "  On  Saturday 
morning  the  Dunderberg  \vas  launched.  The  launch  was 
in  all  respects  successful.  The  vessel  went  into  the  water 
beautifully.  She  dipped  some  toater,  but  immediately  rose  to 
her  place  and  sailed  handsomely  to  the  middle  of  the  chan- 
nel."    Could  you  say  she  immersed  some  water? 


TO   WET. 

Tingere  pascua  rore Calpurnius. 

To  wet  the  pastures  with  dew. 

Et  mere  tinguet  pavimentum.      ....     Hora'ce. 

And  wet  the  pavement  with  wine. 

Neque  enim  celestia  tingi  era  decet  lachrymis.    .     Ovid. 

Nor  is  it  becoming  that  celestial  faces  be  wet  with  tears. 

Necdum  fluctus  latera  ardua  tinxit.      .         .         .     Virgil. 
Nor  yet  has  the  wave  wet  his  lofty  sides. 

In  these,  and  like  passages,  to  dip  and  to  dye  are  impos- 
sible meanings.     We  are  shut  up  to  the  translation  to  loet. 

The  instrumental  case,  without  a  preposition,  is  used  as 
is  the  dative  with  liamm  in  its  secondary  meaning. 


176  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


TO  WASn. 

Nuda  superfusis  tingamas  corpora  lymphis.  .         .   Ovid. 

Let  us  wash  our  naked  bodies  ivith  ivater  poured  over  them. 
Lydia  Pactoli  tinguit  arata  liqiior.          .        .         .    Propertius. 

The  river  Pactolus  washes  the  Lydian  fields. 
Quia  aqua  calida  tingebantur.         .         .         .    Juvenal  (note). 

Because  they  were  washed  with  warm  water. 

TO   MOISTEN,   TO   ANOINT. 

Tingere  membra  Pallade  pingui Ovid. 

To  moisten  the  limbs  with  rich  oil. 
Ssepe  oculos  memini  tingebam  parvus  olivo. .        .         Perseus. 

I  often  moistened  my  eyes  with  oil. 

In  such  passages,  the  nature  o\  the  case  and  grammatical 
construction  unite  to  declare  that  the  element  is  used  as  an 
agency;  and  to  exclude  the  meanings,  both,  of  dip  and  dye. 
Yet,  in  the  iirst  passage,  if  we  liad  not,  by  exprese  state- 
ment, the  word  by  which  the  water  was  applied  to  the 
body,  we  should  be  doomed  to  hear  the  exhaustless  argu- 
ment— "  tingo,  ^dr.Tuj,  fiar.ri'^io,  mean  to  dip;  naked  bodies  are 
suitable  objects  for  dipping;  water  is  the  very  element  for 
the  purpose;  and  there  is  a  plenty  of  it — therefore,  this  was 
a  case  of  dipping.''  The  passage  from  Ovid  is  utterly  de- 
structive to  such  reasoning.  The  dipping  was  by  pouring! 
Where  the  word  expressive  of  the  act  is  not  stated  it  can- 
not be  found  in  lingo,  or,  in  such  cases,  in  any  other  cor- 
responding word. 

Whether  Gale  would  say  of  this  passage — "dipped  as  it 
were  by  pouring  over;"  or  Carson — "  it  means  in  this  pas- 
sage to  dip  just  as  much  as  any  other,  one  mode  of  action 
being  put,  by  catachrcsis,  for  another  mode  of  action;"  or 
Fuller — it  means  dip,  being  an  "  extravagant  and  impas- 
sioned" utterance  for  ^Ulrench,'' — I  do  not  know;  but  1  do 
know,  that  in  like  cases  a  sound  discretion  is,  as  absolutely, 
abandoned. 


TO    DYE.  177 

SECONDARY. 
TO  DYE. 

Yestes  Gsetulo  murice  tin  etas Horace. 

Garments  dyed  loith  Ga^fuUan  purple. 
Siipercilium  madida  fuliginc  tinctum.         .         .         .     Juvenal. 

The  eyebrow  dyed  with  moist  soot. 
Phocaico  bibulas  tingebat  murice  lanas.     .         .         .     Ovid. 

Dyed  the  absorbing  loool  with  Phocean  purple. 
Tanta  est  decoris  affeetatiout tingantur  oculi  qiioque.   Pliny. 

Such  is  the  longing  for  beauty,  that  the  eyes,  also,  are  dyed. 
Tinguntur  sole  populi. Pliny. 

The  people  are  dyed  by  the  sun. 

Tlie  remark  of  Pliny,  that  the  dyeing  "  the  eyes'*  was 
something  unusual,  and  regarded  as  a  mark  of  extrava- 
gance, in  connection  with  the  statement  of  Juvenal  that 
the  Baptse  not  merely  dyed  their  brows  but  "painted  their 
eyes,"  shows  that  there  is  some  foundation  for  supposing 
that  their  name  originated,  not  in  their  practice  of  dyeing 
and  painting  as  commonly  practised;  but  in  some  pecu- 
liarity or  extravagance;  and,  then,  embraced  a  class  distin- 
guished for  all  extravagance  and  immoral  excesses. 

The  allusion  to  the  "dyeing"  of  the  body  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  is  parallel  with  that  by  Achilles  Tatius  in  speak- 
ing of  the  East  Indians  :  "  /iV;  Tfjpel.  to  au>im  rob  r.opoq  ri-jV  [iacprf^ — 

the  body  takes  the  color  of  fire.''' 

The  phraseology  attaches  no  limit  to  the  mode  of  dye- 
ing. In  no  case  is  the  object  dyed  represented  as  put  into 
the  dyeing  material.  To  dip  the  people  in  the  sun  would 
be  an  embarrassing  undertaking.  The  sun's  rays  dye  by 
falling  on  the  body.  Tingo  does  not  mean  to  fall.  Such 
word  must  be  understood.  So  in  every  case  where  a  con- 
dition or  result  is  expressed,  such  expression  exhausts  the 
word  making  it;  and  it  cannot,  also,  express  tlie  act  by 
which  the  condition  or  result  is  eftected.  This  is  true 
of  tingo,  to  dye,  ^d-rco,  to  dye,  and  of  ^aKxi^uj  through  all  its 
usage. 

12 


178  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


TO  PAINT. 

Tingit  cutem  Marinus,  et  tamen  pallet.     .         .         .    Martial. 
Marinus  paints  his  skin,  and  yet  is  pale. 

TO    STAIN. 

Yictima,  pontificum  seciirim,  ccrvice  tingiiit.   .         .     Horace. 

The  victim  stains  the  axe  of  the  priests  with  its  neck. 
Et  viridcs  aspergine  tinxerat  Lerbas.        .         .         .     Ovid. 

And  stained  the  green  grass  by  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood. 
Musto  tingue  novo  mccuni  dereptis  crura.         .         .    Virgil. 

Stain  with  me  the  bared  legs  by  the  new  wine. 

IsTone  of  these  cases  can,  properly,  be  considered  as 
cases  of  dyeing.  They  are,  also,  far  removed  from  the 
form  of  dipping.  The  blow  of  an  axe,  the  dropping  of 
blood  from  a  wound,  the  trampling  of  grapes,  which, 
severally,  meets  the  demands  of  tivgo^  show  that  this 
word,  like  /J^tttw,  has  ceased  to  make  demand  for  modal 
action.  Even  "  sprinkling"  can  meet  the  requirements 
of  this  modified  dipping. 

Conant   translates    "  i-eOu/iet  r^y   ds^idv  -w  XmpLw  ^OKziaai  r<L 

TzaTpi/M — he  desired  to  ])limge  his  right  hand  in  his  father's 
neck."  Horace  suggests,  "  baptize,  morse,  cover  with  blood 
hy  his  father's  neck,"  since  he  says,  "the  victim  stains  the 
axe  with  its  neck,"  not  in  it. 

TO   TEMPER. 

El  Stygia  candentera  tinxerat  unda Virgil. 

And  tempered  it  glowing  hot  with  Stygian  water. 

The  act  by  which  the  sword  was  subjected  to  the  pecu- 
liar influence  of  "  the  Stygian  water"  may  have  been  that 
of  dipping,  and  yet  "tinxerat"  not  used  for  the  purpose 
of  expressing  such  act.  When  tiiigo  is  used  to  denote 
dyeing,  although  that  result  should  be  accomplished  by 
the   process  of  dipping,  the  word  which    expresses  the 


TO    IMBUE   OR    TO    TINCTURE.  179 

result  cannot  at  the  same  time  express  the  process.  Tingo 
cannot  express  both  to  dye  and  to  dip.  "When  tingo  ex- 
presses the  tempering  of  metal,  it  cannot,  also,  express  the 
dipping  (if  that  be  the  process),  any  more  than  it  can 
express  sprinkling,  if  that  be  the  process. 

TO   IMBUE    OR   TO   TINCTURE. 

It  has  been  already  remarked,  in  speaking  of  this  class 
of  meanings  in  connection  with  ^dmui^  that  imbue  was  felt 
to  be  too  strong  a  word  to  use  in  this  case;  but  that,  no 
better  presenting,  it  was  adopted.  Perhaps  tincture  would 
be  preferable.  These  words  are  used  interchangeably;  yet 
the  latter  has  less  breadth  of  application,  and  less  power 
in  its  import,  while  it  may  express  the  communication  of 
quality  irrespective  of  color,  with  which  it  stands,  verbally, 
related. 

In  making  use  of  tincture,  in  this  relation,  it  is  regarded 
as  thoroughly  divorced  from  all  coloring  element. 

Non  ego  te  meis  immunem  meditor  tinguere  poculis.  Horace. 

I  do  not  purpose  to  tincture  you  with  my  bowls. 
Orator  sit  tinctus  Uteris Cicero. 

An  orator  should  be  tinctured  with  letters. 
Eomano  sale  tinge  libellos Martial. 

Tincture  the  writings  with  Roman  salt. 
Vis  aurea  tinxit  flumen Ovid. 

The  golden  potency  tinctured  the  river. 
Et  incerto  fontem  medicamine  tinxit.        .         .         .     Ovid. 

And  tinctured  the  fountain  with  the  ambiguous  virtue. 
Cum  dira  libido  ....  ferventi  tincta  veneno.  .    Perseus. 

Fierce  passion  tinctured  with  fiery  poison. 
Ignibus  et  sparsa  tingere  corpus  aqua.      .         .        Ovid,  Fasti. 

To  tincture  the  body  with  fires  and  sprinkled  water. 
Haec,  quibus,  tingendus  est  animus.  .        .        .    Seneca. 

Those  things  with  which  the  mind  must  be  tinctured. 
Hoc  fimo  tinctum  in  serobem  demisit.      .         .         .     Seneca. 

This  tinctured  with  manure  he  put  down  into  the  trench. 


180  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 

This  usage  exliibits  ting^o  (in  common  with  ^dTtrm,  having 
already  laid  aside  modality  of  act,  dyeing  by  sprinkling,  &g.) 
as  laying  aside,  now,  dyeing,  and.  imparting  any  quality  what- 
ever, 1.  The  intoxicating  quality  of  wine^  to  a  limited  extent. 
2.  The  quality  of  transmuting  into  gold,  imparted  to  a 
river.  3.  The  quality  of  transforming  the  human  person, 
communicated  to  a  fountain.  4.  The  quality  of  pureuess 
given  to  the  human  body  by  "iire  and  sprinkled  water.'" 

I  am  aware  that  tangere  has  been  proposed  as  a  substi- 
tute for  "^tiugere;"  but  would  retain  tingere — 1.  As,  ap- 
parently, the  more  diiEcult  reading.  If  we  attcm,pt  to 
translate  this  passage  from  the  Fasti  (iv,  799)  by  a  mere 
reference  to  dip  and  dge,  we  are  at  once  involved  in  inex- 
tricable embarrassment,  and  look  around  for  succor.  This 
is  found,,  as  supposed,  in  tangere;  but  before  a  reading, 
which  involves  some  difficulty,  is  rejected,  would  it  not  be 
well  to  inquire,  whether  we  may  not  have  overlooked  some 
usage  of  the  word  which  will  fully  vindicate  its  retention 
in  the  passage  ? 

2.  As  the  much  superior  reading  when  fairly  inter- 
preted. 

There  is  nothing  of  elegance  or  fitness  in  "  tangere"  tc 
meet  the  demands  of  the  passage.  The  most  that  can  be 
said  in  its  favor  is,  that  it  relieves,  measurably  and  awk- 
wardly, of  a  difficulty  from  which  no  better  way  of  escape 
was  seen.  But  the  difficulty  is  of  our  own  creation, 
"Fire  and  sprinkled  wateir"  do,  unquestionably,  according 
to  ancient  rites,  purify  the  body.  Let  Ovid  say  this;  let 
tingo  express  this;  and  what  use  have  we  for  "  tangere?" 

3.  Such  use  of  tingo  is  in  proof.  And  this  very  passage 
gives  evidence,  not  least  in  force  and  beauty,  in  its  support. 
The  purifying  quality  which  belongs  to  sacrificial  fires,  and 
to  water  ritually  sprinkled,  is  exerted  over  the  body  which 
is  brought  within  their  influences;  and  they  tincture  it 
with  their  characteristic  quality,  expelling  impurity  and 
imparting  pureness. 

4.  Those  purified  by  ^''sprinJded  water"  would  be,  prop- 
erly, designated  as — Tincii. 


TO   IMBUE   OR   TO   TINCTURE.  181 

Two  oth-er  passages  may  be  sufficient  to  exemplify  the 
meaning  under  consideration. 

Nou  ilia,  quibus  perfiindi  satis  est,  sed  baec  tingeudus  est 
auimus.  Seneca. 

JVot  those  studies  with  ichich  it  is  sxifficieixt  to  be  sprinkled,  but 
those  with  which  the  mind  should  be  tinctured. 

This  passage  is  parallel  with  those  from  Antoninus-;  and, 
like  them,  exhibits  quality  without  color  communicated  to 
the  mind.  We  have,  also,  in  this  passage,  incidental  proof 
of  this  interpretation,  in  the  contrast  hatsveen  perfimdo  and 
tingo.  The  former,  certainly,  has  nothing  to  do  with 
color,  and  the  word  with  which  it  is  contrasted  cannot. 
No  one  would  contrast  sprinkled  Avater  and  a  dyed  color; 
nor  can  the  contrast  be  between  sprinkling  and  dipping, 
for  they  both  represent,  in  themselves,  but  a  very  feeble 
effect;  while  Seneca  means  to  contrast  superficialness  with 
thoroughness.  The  fitness  of  tingo  to  express  what  is 
penetrative  and  abiding,  comes  from  its  use  in  the  sense 
of  dyeing ;  and  after  it  has  dropped  the  idea  of  color. 
Hence  per/undo  denotes  what  is  superficial;  and  tingo  an 
incorporated  quality. 

"Tinctum,"  in  the  second  passage  from  Seneca,  ex- 
presses the  reception  of  the  virtue  of  the  manure  by  the 
olive  tree.     This  is  a  case  neither  of  dipping  nor  dyeing. 

Quam  qui  dona  tulit  Lernaso  tincta  veneno 

Euboicasque  sue  sanguine  tinxit  aquas.  Ovid,  Ibis. 

He  who  bore  the  gifts  tinctured  icith  the  Lerncean  poison, 
And  tinged  the  Euboean  waters  icith  his  blood. 

This  passage  reminds  us,  forcibly,  of  the  epigram  on 
Eupolis : 

There  is  in  both,  the  suffering  of  individuals — Hercules 
and  Alcibiades;  and  in  both,  the  death  by  drowning,  of 
the  authors  of  that  suffering — Lichas  and  Eupolis;  and  in 
both,  a  play  upon  words  expressive  of  the  suffering  and  the 
punishment — Ovid  employing  the  same  word  with  differ- 


182  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

ent  meanings,  and  Alcibiades  employing  similar  words  of 
different  meanings. 

"  Dona  tineta"  were  gifts  neitlicr  dipped  nor  dyed  in 
Lernfiean  poison,  but  tinctured  witli  it;  the  poisonous 
quality  belonging  to  the  Hydra  had  been  imparted  to  the 
garment;  and  it  is  this  quality  only  which  is  brought  into 
view.  "  Tinxit  aquas"  just  as  clearly  means  to  dye,  to 
impart  color,  although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  no 
such  thing;  the  opportunity  to  introduce  the  same  word 
to  express  death,  in  a  rhetorical  manner,  is  seized  upon. 

So,  Alcibiades  employs  /3a-rw  and  ^ar.riZo),  allied  in  origin 
and  sound,  to  express  widely  different  meanings,  and  de- 
signing by  their  likeness  in  letter,  to  give  emphasis  to 
their  unlikeness  in  meaning.  Eupolis  would  dye  him  in 
plays;  he  would  make  Eupolis  die  in  the  sea. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  two  words,  in  different  lan- 
guages, which,  starting  out  with  sameness  of  meaning, 
continue  pari  'passu,  through  all  their  development  to  ex- 
hibit such  thorough  sameness,  in  all  their  changing  phases, 
as  do  ^dr.Tu)  and  tingo. 

As  they  reciprocally  illustrate  each  other,  there  is  noth- 
ing wanting  to  the  most  satisfactory  determination  of  the 
meaning  of  both. 


TO  DIP.  183 


TO  DIP. 

ITS   MEANING   AND    USAGE. 

To  dip,  ill  English,  has  a  usage  in  marked  correspond- 
ence with  that  of  fidnru),  in  Greek,  and  of  tingo,  in  Latin. 
There  is  not,  indeed,  a  perfect  accord  in  every  shade  of 
meaning;  there  are  some  features  of  the  Greek  or  Latin 
word  which  are  not  found  in  the  Enghsh;  and  so,  also, 
there  are  features  in  the  English  word  which  do  not  appear 
in  the  Greek  or  Latin;  still,  with  these  peculiarities  of 
development,  the  radical  elements  are  the  same.  A  few 
quotations  will  place  this  statement  beyond  all  question. 

PRIMARY. 
TO   DIP.  4 

*  The  landscape  gives  the  summit  of  a  ridge  of  laud  that 
suddenly  dips  from  sight,  in  the  mid  distance,  and  rises 
again  in  the  form  of  a  dim  line  of  high  ground  drawn 
along  the  horizon." 

^      Rosa  Bonheur. 

"  The  minister  dipping  the  scoop  into  the  water." 

Chalme7'S. 

"  The  Lady  Mayoress  dipped  the  corner  of  the  towel 

into  it." 

Id. 

"  Children  should  never  be  dipped  more  than  once." 

Sir  A.  Clarke 


"The  dip  of  oars  in  unison  awake, 
"Without  alarming  silence." 

"So  was  he  dight 
That  no  man  might 

Hym  for  a  frere  deny, 
He  (lopped  and  dooked, 
He  spake  and  looked 
So  religiously." 


Glover. 


Sir  T.  More. 


184  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"  And  dijiH  them  in  the  sable  ■well, 
The  fount  of  Fame  or  Infamy. 
What  well  ?  what  weapon  ?  (Flavia  cries,) 
A  standish,  steel,  and  golden  pen !" 

Pope. 

"Dipping  her  fingers  in  a  little  silver  vase  of  rose-water." 

Sir  W.  Scoii. 

"  The  cloth  thou  dip'dst  in  blood  of  my  sweet  boy, 
And  I,  with  tears,  do  wash  the  blood  away." 

S/iakspea7'e. 

"The  fleet  dipped  their  colors  to  the  Queen's  yacht." 

Fete  at  Cherbourg. 

"  Now  wheeling  and  dipping  toward  it,  as  a  butterfly." 

Japan  Legerdemain. 

1.  In  the  first  of  these  examples  showing  the  primary, 
literal  use  of  dip,  we  have  the  modal  elements  which  enter 
into  this  word  distinctly  stated :  "  Suddenly  dips  from 
sight  and  rises  again."  The  "  rising  again"  is  essential  to 
a  dipping  in  its  primary  use;  in  this  it  is  radically  distin- 
guished from  plunge,  dive,  immerse,  whelm,  &c. 

2.  The  objects  which  are  dipped  claim  attention.  These 
are  "  a  scoop,"  "  the  corner  of  a  towel,"  "  children," 
"oars,"  "head  and  shoulders,"  "pen,"  "fingers,"  "cloth," 
"flag,"  "bits  of  paper."  None  of  these  are  selected  cases. 
The  smalhicss  of  the  objects  is  not  matter  of  accident.  It 
is  a  necessity  resulting  from  the  nature  of  the  act.  Every 
object  which  is  dipped  must  be  brought  out  again  from 
the  element  into  which  it  has  been  introduced.  This 
requires  that  the  introducing  power  should  have  full  mas- 
tery over  its  object;  but,  in  all  ordinary  cases,  it  is  human 
agency  b}''  which  the  act  is  performed,  and  the  power 
employed  that  of  the  hand  or  arm;  consequently,  the  ob- 
jects capable  of  being  thus  dipped  are  limited,  and  must 
be  of  trivial  size  and  weight,  as  indicated  by  the  examples 
adduced.  Thus  the  nature  of  the  objects  gives  testimony 
to  the  nature  of  the  act. 


TO   WET.  185 

3.  Some  moclilScations  of  usage  require  notice.  Ordi- 
narily a  fluid  element  is  present  in  a  dipping;  and,  also, 
usuall}',  the  whole  of  an  object  is  dipped  when  there  is  no 
limitation  expressed;  but  Sir  Thomas  More  says  that  the 
friar  "  doppcd  and  dooked" — (dipped  and  ducked — "  dop- 
ped  being  from  dippan,  the  characteristic  i  being  changed 
to  o");  he  did  not  dip  into  any  fluid  element,  but  merely 
performed  the  modal  acts  of  depressing  and  elevating,  not 
his  whole  body,  but  his  head  and  shoulders;  still  the  act 
is  legitimately  attributed  to  the  whole  man,  and  although 
our  Baptist  friends  put,  ritually,  but  the  head  and  shoulders 
under  w^ater,  it  may  lawfully,  and  of  right  can,  be  called 
only  a  dipping. 

The  case  from  Pope,  also,  shows  that  the  "  steel  and  gold 
pen"  may  be  said  to  be  dipped  in  the  standish,  although  an 
unexpressed  part,  only,  is  so  dipped.  The  last  two  cases, 
also,  exemplify  a  dipping  in  which  the  modal  act  of  lower- 
ing and  raising  a  flag,  or  bits  of  paper  by  fanning,  is  per- 
formed without  carrying  the  object  into  a  fluid  element. 

TO  WET. 

"  She  fables  not;  I  feel  that  I  do  fear 
Her  words  set  off  by  some  superior  power ; 
And  though  not  mortal,  yet  a  cold  shudd'ring  dew 
Dips  me  all  o'er,  as  when  the  wrath  of  Jove 
Speaks  thunder."  Comus. 

"  She  alway  smyled,  and  in  her  hand  did  hold 
An  holy-water  sprinckle,  dipt  in  do  we."      Facre  Queene. 

Comus  could  not  be  dipped  in  dew^  under  any  circum- 
stances, much  less  in  drops,  formed  by  fright,  on  his  own 
body;  we  are,  therefore,  under  necessity  to  understand 
"  dip,"  here,  as  expressing  not  modal  action  but  the  efifect, 
lueiting,  wdiich  is  the  usual  consequence  of  dipping.  This 
is,  also,  a  fair  and  legitimate  explanation  of  the  second 
case,  although  the  necessity  is  not,  in  all  respects,  &o  abso- 
lute. To  lean  heavily  on  "  in"'  to  oppose  this  interpreta- 
tion, would  be  to  lean  on  a  reed,  which  might  break  and 


186  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

pierce  the  hand  confiding  in  it.  "We  speak  of  an  object 
being  "left  out  in  the  dew,"  although  impossible  that  it 
should  be,  literallj',  in  the  dew.  Gideon's  fleece  was  thus 
"in  the  dew,"  and  so  was  Nebuchadnezzar;  and  the  con- 
dition of  wetness  consequent  on  such  exposure,  may  be 
designated  by  dip  or  tingo,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  Babylon's 

king,  by  (idnzca. 

TO    BATHE. 

"  He  walked  to  the  river  to  take  his  customary  dip." 

Judge  Brackcnridge. 

"  The   dip  was   over,   and   dripping  with   brine,  they 

hastened  back."  Cape  May  Letter. 

"  In  whose  waters  Cardinal  Wiseman  was  dipped." 

Letter  from  Wales. 

Since,  in  bathing,  the  act  of  dipping  the  body  more  or 
less,  is  of  common  and  frequent  occurrence;  that  word  has 
come  to  be  familiarly  employed  to  designate  the  whole 
transaction;  and  is  equally  applicable  to  the  bathing, 
whether  any,  technical,  act  of  dipping  take  place  or  not. 

TO    EXAMINE   SLIGHTLY. 

"  Only  to  dip  into  a  Hebrew  or  Greek  Lexicon." 

Booth,  i,  115. 

"I  have  just  dipped  into  the  works  of  such  an  author." 

Id.,  i,  123. 

"TVe  have  occasionally  dipped  into  the  novels." 

Editorial. 

"  He  resolved  to  dip  into  it,  but  took  no  serious  notice 

of  what  he  read."  Col.  Gardiner. 

"  We  first  dipped  into  the  pages  of  Whiston's  Josephus." 

Rev.  Dr.  Leyburn. 

"  Dip  into  the  work  where  you  like." 

Review. 

"  I  have  dipped  into  Aristotle  and  several  other  masters 

of  the  science."  Rev.  Dr.  Thomwell. 


TO    EXAMINE   SLIGHTLY.  187 

Sucli  usage  is  clearly  based  on  the  superficial  entrance, 
and  transitory  continuance,  of  an  object  within  a  fluid  ele- 
ment. The  effect  upon  an  object,  under  such  limitations, 
must  be  trivial.  To  dip  into  a  book  is  to  make  a  super- 
ficial and  transient  examination  of  its  contents.  There- 
fore, Dr.  Thornwell  commits  no  ofience  against  modesty 
when  he  claims  to  have  "dipped  into  Aristotle;"  but  mod- 
esty would  never  have  allowed  him  to  say  of  himself,  "  I 
have  been  immersed  in  Aristotle  and  other  masters  of 
logic."  So  vastly  diverse  is  the  import  of  the  one  word 
and  the  other. 

There  are  some  who  seem  disposed  to  insist  that  these 
"Lexicons"  and  "Novels,"  as,  also,  "Aristotle  and  his 
Logical  Compeers,"  should  represent  pools  of  water,  be- 
cause associated  with  '-'■dip  i7iio."  Can  such  a  demand 
escape  the  supremest  ridicule?  Grant  that  "dip  into"  is 
phraseology  fashioned  at  the  water-pool.  What  then? 
Does  it  follow,  that  when  such  phraseology  is  taken  away 
from  the  pool  and  articulated  with  books  and  philosophers, 
that  it  has  a  charm  whereby  they  are  incontinently  meta- 
morphosed into  water-ponds?  But,  even  let  the  experi- 
ment be  tried.  Let  lexicon,  and  novel,  and  Josephus,  and 
Aristotle,  be  turned  into  any  fluid  that  may  please  best. 
And  what  next?  Why,  then,  we  are  to  "  dip  into"  them. 
Very  good.  And  let  that  be  done.  What  next?  Why, 
then,  I  suppose  we  are  to  come  out  a  Utile  ivei,  which  damp- 
ness is  (by  the  force  of  a  lively  imagination)  to  be  converted 
into  a  trilling  amount  of  Lexicography,  or  Fiction,  or  Jew- 
ish History,  or  Stagiritic  Logic,  as  the  case  may  bo ! 

This  may  be  highly  imaginative,  yet  be  seriously  defi- 
cient in  homely  common  sense;  which  would  teach  us  to 
modify  the  meaning  of  the  foreign  phraseology  to  suit  its 
new  relations;  taking  out  of  its  original  use  what  is  de- 
manded by  its  novel  position,  and  allowing  the  remainder 
to  tarry,  still,  by  the  water.  Thus  "dip  into"  is  trans- 
formed into  examine  slightly. 


188  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


TO   ENGAGE   IN,    MORE    OR   LESS   DEEPLY. 

"  For  -vvaiTants  are  already  issued  out : 
I  met  Brutidius  in  a  mortal  fright: 
He's  dipt  for  certain,  and  plays  least  in  sight." 

Di  yden. 

"When  men  are  once  dipt,  they  go  ou  until  they  are 

etified."  L' Estrange. 

"Full  in  the  midst  of  Euclid  dip  at  once, 
And  petrify  a  genius  to  a  dunce."  Pope. 

"  Dipping  deeply  into  politics."  Pursuits  of  Literature, 

"lie  was  a  little  dipt  in  the  rehellion  of  the  Commons." 

Dryden. 

"  Who  was  secretly  dipt  in  some  papers  of  this  kind." 

Dunciud  (note). 

"  O'wer  mon}^  great  folks  dipped  in  the  same  doings." 

Sir  W.  Scott. 

Qualifying  adjuncts — "full  in  the  midst,"  "deeply," 
"little," — may  increase,  or  diminish,  that  feebleness  which, 
by  nature,  belongs  to  dip.  The  meaning  exhibited  in  these 
passages  is,  obviously  and  essentially,  different  from  the 
preceding. 

TO    MORTGAGE. 

"  Put  out  the  principal  in  trusty  hands, 
Live  on  the  use;  and  never  dip  thy  lands." 

Drydon. 

"Lord  T had  dipped  so  deeply  into  his  property." 

Mrs.  Sherivood. 

Money  taken  out  of  real  estate,  by  mortgage,  is  called 
dipping  the  land. 

*  By  dipping  with  an  empty  vessel  into  a  fluid  we  take 
out  a  portion  of  it;  so,  by  a  mortgage  we  take  out  a  por- 
tion from  our  property  and  fill  an  empty  pocket. 

This  idea  is  the  g;round  of  usaace  in  the  following 
passages. 


'SO   DYE.  189 


TO    TAKE   OUT. 

"  She  dipped  up  water  in  her  hands  and  gave  her  child." 

Wyoming  Massacre. 

"As  they  dipped  their  hand  in  Uncle  Sam's  pocket." 

Current  Literature. 

"  The  ministers  allowed  the  Prince  to  dip  deep  into  the 
national  purse."  id. 

As  the  empty  hand,  hollowed,  dipped  into  the  stream, 
brought  up  ivater;  so  the  empty  hand  dipped  into  the 
nation's  purse  brings  out  gold! 

This  meaning  the  Greeks  could  readil}^  understand;  for 
it  is  involved  in  -ri  xaX-idt  xqpia  ^d(l<at — ilkp  honey  loith  ajntcher, 
Theocritus,  Idyl  5, 127;  but  its  specific  application — "never 
dip  thy  lands" — would,  at  first  sight,,  prove  embarrassing. 

SECOIfDAEY. 

TO   DYE. 

"  Fancy,  fbat,  from  the-  bow  that  spans  the  sky, 
Brings  colors,  dipped  in  heaven,  that  never  die." 

Coiuper4 

"  And  made  the  symbols  of  atoning  grace, 
An  office  key,  a  picklock  to  a  place. 
That  infidels  may  prove  their  title  good 
By  an  oath  dipp'd  in  sacramental  blood."  Coviper. 

"  The  middle  pair 
Skirted  his  loins  and  thighs  with  downy  gold 
And  colors  dipt  in  heaven ;  the  third  his  feet 
Shadowed  from  either  heel  with  feathered  mail 
Sky  tinctured  grain."  Milton. 

"  Over  his  lucid  arms 
A  militarj'-  vest  of  purple  flow'd, 
Livelier  than  Mclibcean,  or  the  grain 
Of  Sarra,  worn  by  kings  and  heroics  old 
In  time  of  truce;  Iris  had  (ii/j<  the  woof."  Milton. 

"  DipH  in  the  richest  tinctures  of  the  skies." 

"  Or  dip  their  pinions  in  the  painted  bow."  Pope. 


190  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"  Dipt  by  cruel  fate 
In  Stygian  dye,  how  black,  how  brittle  here!" 

Young. 

"  Thy  -wondrous  love, 
That  arms  with  awe  more  awful  thy  commands, 
And  foul  transgression  dij^s  in  seven-fold  guilt." 

You7ig. 

The  usage  of  dip,  in  the  sense  to  dye,  is  not,  by  any  means, 
so  thoroughly  incorporated  in  the  English  language,  as  is 
that  of  [idTtrw  and  tingo,  in  the  same  sense,  in  their  re- 
spective languages.  The  above  quotations,  however,  will 
show  that  such  usage  is  distinctly  recognized 


TO    STAIN. 

^^Dipt  his  hands  in  the  blood  of  a  noble  Norman." 

Sir  W.  Scott. 

"  The  troops  would  not  dip  their  hands  in  the  blood  of 

their  countrymen."  Tusca7i  Revolution. 

"  He  writes 
My  name  in  heaven  with  that  inverted  spear 
(A  spear  deep  dipt  in  blood  !)  which  pierced  his  side." 

Young. 

These  cases  are  essentially  difterent  from  "  the  oath  dipt 
in  sacramental  blood." 


TO   IMBUE — TO   TINCTURE. 

"  I'll  make  him  dip  my  sword  and  pike  for  me  in  holy  water." 
"And  I  have  arrows  mystically  dipped." 

Coleridge. 

"  Custom  dips  men  in  as  durable  a  dye  as  Nature." 

Cur.  Lit. 
"  Old  Bavius  sits,  to  dip  poetic  souls, 
And  blunt  the  sense,  and  fit  it  for  a  skull 
Of  solid  proof,  impenetrably  dull ; 
Instant  when  dipt,  away  they  wing  their  flight." 

Dunciad. 
"  iJijo^  me  in  ink."  Pope. 


TO   IMBUE — TO   TINCTURE.  191 

"  For  not  to  have  been  dipt  in  Lethe  lake 
Could  save  the  son  of  Thetis  from  to  die; 
But  that  blind  bard  did  him  immortal  make 
With  verses  dijjt  in  dewe  of  Castalie."  Spenser. 

"  A  person  dipped  in  scandal."  Warburion. 

"Holy  water"  has  no  color  to  impart  to  "sword  and 
pike;"  but  these  are  "dipt"  for  the  purpose  of  securing, 
thereby,  some  quality  or  virtue ;  they  must,  therefore,  be  im- 
bued or  tinctured  with  some  uncolored  quality.  The  same 
is  true  of  arrows  "  mystically  dipped."  They  receive  no 
quality  which  appeals  to  the  eye,  yet  which  is  mysteriously 
powerful.  Sword,  and  pike,  and  arrows,  when  taken  out 
of  the  "  holy  water,"  still  remain  dipped,  i.  e.  imbued,  tinc- 
tured with  the  quality  imparted;  as,  having  been  dipped 
into  a  dye,  they  would  remain  bapted  after  removal  out  of 
the  dye.  Colored,  or  uncolored,  the  quality  communicated 
equally  remains.  The  dye  which  "  custom  dips,"  is  de- 
void of  color;  yet  her  tincture  is  as  abiding  as  that  of 
Nature  herself;  for  "  Custom  is  second  nature." 

Poetic  souls,  dipped  by  Bavius  into  Lethe,  may  be  tinc- 
tured very  deeply  with  stupidity;  but,  when  most  deeply 
dipt,  they  fail  to  show  any  color  of  the  rainbow. 

Spenser  alludes  to  the  same  transaction  which  gives 
basis  to  Pope's  poet-dipping;  and  compliments  the  genius 
of  Homer  as  accomplishing  that,  by  his 

"Verses  dipt  in  dewe  of  Castalie," 

which  the  power  of  Lethe's  waters  had  failed  to  effect. 
Verses,  dipped  in  Castalian  dew,  are  imbued  with  the  spirit 
which  reigns  in  that  home  of  the  Muses. 

"  Holy  water,"  "  Lethe  lake,"  "  dewe  of  Castalie,"  are 
supposed  to  possess  characteristic  qualities,  which  they 
impart  to  objects  dipped  into  them  in  fact,  or  by  imagin- 
ation, or  only  of  verbal  suggestion;  just  as  dye-water  parts 
with  its  coloring  quality  under  like  circumstances. 

This  is  a  modified  use  of  dip,  and  most  justifiable  ex- 
tension of  its  meaning,  in  which  is  repeated  the  usage  of 
/SdTTTw  and  iingo. 


192  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


APPROPRIATION. 


"  Kelenting  forms  would  lose  their  power  or  cease, 
And  e'en  the  dipped  and  sprinkled  live  in  peace." 

Cowper. 

"  The  clipped,"  and  not  the  immersed,  is  the  title  to  be 
appropriated  to  those  who  receive  the  Christian  rite  by 
dipping  the  upper  part  of  the  body  into  water. 

The  pd-rai  and  the  (^a-riarat  are  separated  by  an  immense 
interval. 

"  THE   DIPPERS,"  alias   SNUFF   RUBBERS. 

There  is  another  appropriated  use,  not  so  generally  un- 
derstood, and  which  is  thus  explained :  "  It  may  be  that 
some  of  your  readers  are  not  familiar  with  the  practice  of 
*  dipping.'  I  will  say,  therefore,  that  a  dipper  is  one  who, 
having  separated  the  fibres  of  a  hickory  stick  by  chewing 
it,  uses  it,  when  wet  with  saliva,  as  the  means  of  convey- 
ing snuff  from  the  family  box  or  pouch  to  the  mouth." 

Hon.  W.  D.  Kdley. 

Whatever  the  ^dnrai  of  Eupolis  may  have  been,  they 
certainly  differed  from  these  "  dippers;"  the  nearest  point 
of  resemblance,  probably,  being  that  the  latter  dyed  their 
mouths  with  smijf,  and  the  former  dyed  their  eyes  with 
soot.  In  both  cases,  the  origin  of  the  name  ceases  to  con- 
trol its  meaning,  and  becomes  expressive  of  habit  and 
character. 

RESULTS. 

Making  no  claim  to  having  exhausted  the  great  variety 
of  usage  which  characterizes  these  words,  enough  has  been 
exhibited  to  show: 

1.  Bd-rui  signifies — Primarily.  (1.)  To  dip,  (2.)  to  moisten, 
(3.)  to  wash. 

Sccondarihj.  (1.)  To  dye,  (2.)  to  stain,  (3.)  to  paint,  (4.)  to 
gild,  (5.)  to  temper,  (G.)  to  tincture,  without  coloring. 


RESULTS.  193 

2.  Tingo  signifies — Primarily.  (1.)  To  dip,  (2.)  to  wet,  (3.) 
to  moisten,  (4.)  to  Avash. 

Secondarilij.  (1.)  To  dye,  (2.)  to  stain,  (3.)  to  paint,  (4.) 
to  temper,  (5.)  to  tincture,  witliont  coloring. 

3.  Dip  signifies — Primarily.  (1.)  To  dip,  (2.)  to  wet,  (3.) 
to  bathe,  (4.)  to  examine  slightly,  (5.)  to  engage  in,  (6.)  to 
mortgage. 

Secondarily.  (1.)  To  dye,  (2.)  to  stain,  (3.)  to  tincture, 
without  coloring. 

A  glance  at  this  statement  shows  that  the  Greek  and 
Latin  word  has  found  fuller  development  in  the  direction 
of  dyeing  than  of  dipping;  while  the  English  word  has 
received  larger  development  under  the  leadership  of  the 
act  without  the  element  of  color. 

2.  Each  of  these  words  expresses,  primarily,  an  act 
characterized  by  the  severest  limitations  in  all  directions. 
It  is  limited  in  force ;  it  is  limited  in  the  extent  of  its  fluid 
penetration ;  it  is  limited  in  the  duration  of  continuance 
within  the  fluid ;  it  is  limited  as  to  its  objects,  and  it  is 
limited,  by  the  necessities  of  the  case,  in  the  influence 
which  is  exerted. 

An  invigorating  clement  is  introduced  by  the  incorpora- 
tion of  color  in  the  secondary  meaning;  the  force  of  which 
still  remains  when  color  is  merged  in  simple  quality.  And 
it  is  in  this  direction,  onl}^,  that  it  makes  any  real  approach 
toward  sympathy  with  the  usage  and  essential  poAver  of 

3.  One  word  reigns,  unchanged,  through  all  these  Greek 
and  Latin  passages.  This  should  be  kept  in  distinct 
remembrance  while  we  are  told  that  ^arMlto  has  but 
one  invariable  meaning,  and  is  most  easy  of  translation. 
If  both  these  statements  be  correct,  then  that  "readily 
found"  Anglic  representative  can  be  carried  without  change 
"through  all  Greek  literature."  This  has  never  been 
attempted.    A  like  doctri  re  Avas  long  proraulged  respect- 

13 


194  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

ing  /Sr/TTTcw,  and  maintained  in  utter  disregard  of  sentinaent 
and  construction. 

It  is  obvious,  that  if  the  Greeks  used  the  same  word  to 
express  essentially  different  ideas,  that  they  must  have 
depended  upon  the  sentiment  expressed,  and  upon  a  modi- 
fied grammatical  structure,  to  throw  light  upon  the  mean- 
ing. "  The  berry  pressed  dips  the  hand."  "  Drops  falling 
on  garments  dip  them."  ^^  Dip  other  colors."  These  were 
phrases  employed  by  the  Greeks,  but  wholly  unintelligible 
in  the  primary  sense  of  dip;  and  yet  by  a  metaphoric 
translation,  and  by  a  cloud  raised  under  the  name  of 
"figurative  language,"  they  were  compelled,  by  contro- 
versialists, to  bear  the  badge  of  the  original  dip. 

Severe  pressure  has  constrained  the  admission  of  a  sec- 
ondary meaning;  and  with  this  admission  has  come  a 
modified  translation,  and  grammatical  structure  is  allowed 
its  rights;  so  that  the  lake  is  no  longer  "-dipped  in  the  blood 
of  the  frog,"  but  "  dyed  by  it."  And  while  the  Greeks 
still  say  that  "  garments  are  dipped  (bapted)  by  sprinkled 
drops  f^  their  translators  no  longer  insist  on  their  being 
dipped  in  them,  but  are  content  that  they  should  be  dyed 
by  them.  We,  now,  ask  them  to  go  a  step  farther,  and 
admit  that  there  may  be  a  bapting  without  either  a  dip- 
ping or  a  dyeing,  and,  as  well  by  sprinkling,  as  by  any 
other  mode.     And,  there,  we  will  rest. 

A  similar  pressure,  from  sentiment  and  syntax,  has  com- 
pelled some  of  the  leading  Baptist  Avriters  to  revolutionize 
their  position,  as  to  an  invariable  act  of  dipping  m^anri'^u); 
thus,  endeavoring  to  spike  the  grammatical  guns  whose 
fire  could  no  longer  be  endured;  while  they  held  on  to  a 
dipping,  "sometimes,  and  pretty  commonly."  To  this  we 
cannot  assent;  but  ask  a  full  surrender,  or  the  endurance 
as  well  as  may  be,  of  continued  syntactical  bombardment. 

Ten  or  a  dozen  words  are  required  to  represent  §dnzu>. 
Will  one  answer  for  iSanH^u)? 

The  Latins,  like  the  Greeks,  used  but  one  word  in  all 
those  passages,  where  we  employ  in  translating,  ten  times 
as  many. 


RESULTS.  195 

Tljey  said:  '•'' Dip  the  pastures  with  dew;"  ^'■Dip  the 
pavement  with  wine;"  '•^ Dip  the  face  with  tears;"  '■'■Dip 
the  body  by  water  poured  over  it;"  "■Dip  the  limbs  and 
eyes  with  oil;"  "The  sacrificial  victim  dips  the  axe  with 
its  neck;"  '■^Dipped  the  grass  by  sprinkling;"  ^^  Dip  you 
with  my  bowls;"  '■^ Dipprjl  the  river  by  a  quality  commu- 
nicated to  it;"  '■'■Dipped  the  fountain"  by  similar  means; 
^^  Dipped  the  sea  by  his  blood;"  ^^  Dipped  the  body  by 
sprinkled  water." 

These  are  remarkable  phrases,  and  will  repay  close 
study.     "We  shall  have  need  of  some  of  them  hereafter. 

Dip,  in  English,  shows  how  sentiment  and  syntax  must 
be  our  guide  when  a  word  is  used  out  of  its  ordinary  sense. 

"Dew  dips  me  all  over;"  "Dip  into  Aristotle;"  "Dip- 
ped in  those  doings;"  "Dip  thy  lands."  These  are  phrases 
which,  at  once,  say,  "Look  out  for  some  other  than  the 
ordinary  meaning." 

If  we  meet  with  precisely  similar  phrases  in  connection 
with.  jSannXio,  who  Can  chide  us  for  rejecting  the  iron  clamp 
— "  one  meaning  through  all  Greek  literature?" 


PART  III. 

IMMERSE. 

ITS   MEANING   AND   USAGE. 

"We  now  proceed  to  examine  the  meaning  of  "immerse," 
as  determined  by  general  usage.  This  word  is  used,  at 
will,  by  Baptist  writers,  as  the  eq.uivalent  of  dip.  They  do 
not,  indeed,  employ  these  words,  indiiFerently,  in  all  eases; 
this  they  could  not  do;  but  where  they  must,  they  do  dis- 
criminate, without  any  acknowledgment  of  the  necessity; 
and  where  they  may,  without  too  open  incongruity,  there 
they  confound  and  interchange. 

Whether  "  immerse "  be  coincident  in  meaning  with 
/SctTTTw,  tingo,  and  dip,  or  whether  it  be  separated  from  them 
by  a  line,  clear,  deep,  and  radical,  the  sovereign  law  of 
usage  must  determine.  To  tliat  we  appeal,  and  by  its 
decree  will  we  loyally  abide. 

MEANING. 

To  IMMEKSE — 'primarily, — To  cause  to  be  in  a  state  of 
intusposition  (enveloped  on  all  sides  by,  ordinarily,  a  fluid 
element),  without  any  limitation  as  to  the  depth  of  posi- 
tion, time  of  continuance,  force  in  execution,  or  mode  of 
accomj)lishment. 

All  of  these  points  are  the  contradictories  of  those  which 
have  been  shown  to  belong  to  dip. 

They  arc  no  less  alien  from  the  meanings  shown  to  be- 
long to  the  Latin  iingo,  and  to  the  Greek  ^di:roj. 

The  usage  of  these  words  is  too  clear,  too  bold,  too 
abounding,  to  allow  of  any  doubt. 
(1%) 


INTDSPOSITION.  1^7 


PRIMARY. 
INTUSPOSITION. 

"  The  globe  was  in  a  state  of  immersion  a  much  longer 
time  than  forty  days." 

"  The  next  objection,  that  there  is  not  enough  of  water 
on  the  earth  to  submerge  it  to  the  depth  necessary  to  cover 
the  tops  of  the  highest  mountains." 

"  The  waters  on  the  earth  and  under  the  earth  could  be 
so  expanded  by  the  rarefaction  of  the  atmosphere,  as  to 
submerge  the  earth." 

These  three  passages  all  relate  to  the  universal  deluge. 
They  speak:  1.  Of  the  condition  of  the  object  immersed; 
it  was  ^'  a  state  of  immersion."  2.  Of  the  time  of  con- 
tinuance ;  "  a  much  longer  time  than  forty  days.^^  3.  Of 
"the  depth"  of  the  immersed  object  below  the  surface^ 
the  highest  point  being  "  fifteen  cubits"  beneath  the  roll- 
ing billows.  4.  Of  the  mode  in  which  it  "could"  be 
accomplished;  "  the  waters  could  be  expanded  so  as  to 
submerge  the  earth."  5.  Of  the  object  immersed;  "the 
globe." 

Now,  I  would  ask:  1.  Was  it  ever  said  of  an  object 
dipped  that  it  was  in  "a  state"  oi  dipping?  2.  Was  the 
continuance  of  a  dijyping  ever  known  to  last  "much  longer 
than  forty  days?"  3.  Was  a  dipping  ever  known  to  put  its 
object  from  fifteen  cubits  to  half  as  many  miles  below  the 
surface?  4.  Was  a  dipping  ever  known  to  be  effected  by 
"the  expansion"  of  the  fluid  until  it  surmounted  its  ob- 
ject? 6.  Does  dip  number  in  the  catalogue  of  objects 
which  it  takes  up  and  places  momentarily  beneath  the 
surface,  such  objects  as  this  great  "globe"  which  we  in- 
habit? 

The  English  language  will  be  searched  in  vain  for  any 
such  phraseology.  The  nature  of  the  case  does  not  admit 
of  it.  Dip  does  not  put  its  object  into  "a  state;"  but 
merely  carries  it  into,  and  out  of,  a  fluid  element  without 
allowing  it  to  gain  any  status  in  it.     How  vital  this  dis- 


198  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

tinguishing  difference  is,  in  itself,  is  obvious;  tliat  tlie 
consequences,  flowing  from  sucli  diverse  starting-points, 
must  forever  continue  diverse,  is  no  less  obvious. 

Booth  thinks  that  "Baptist  sentiment  and  practice  is 
made  ridiculous ''  by  the  use  of  "plunge;"  would  the  finger 
of  ridicule  be  pointed  any  the  less  sharply,  if  Booth  and 
his  friends  would  test  their  principles  by  emplopng  dip  to 
express  such  cases  of  "immersion"  as  that  before  us? 


"A  solid  when  immersed  in  a  liquid  becomes  lighter  by 
the  weight  of  the  fluid  displaced." 

"Representing  a  globe  half  immersed  in  water." 

These  statements  necessitate  a  continuance  of  the  state 
of  intusposition.  It  is  only  as  an  object  continues  in  a 
state  of  mersion  that  it  becomes  lighter.  It  is  impossible  to 
substitute  dip  for  "immerse."  The  sentiment  is,  thereby, 
made  untrue  or  impracticable.  It  is  untrue  that  a  dipped 
object  is  any  the  lighter  for  having  been  dipped;  and  it  is 
impracticable  to  weigh  an  object  which  is,  in  transitu^  gouig 
through  the  process  of  a  dipping. 


"  Not  rest  until  he  found  the  persons  who  caused  his 
immersion  in  the  dungeon." 

"  "We  descended  to  the  house,  whence  we  emerged,  on 
foot,  upon  the  beautiful  grounds." 

"  The  party  emerged  from  the  vehicle  that  I  had  driven 
up." 

Can  you  speak  of  a  man  shut  up  in  a  dungeon  as  being 
dipped  into  it  ?  Can  you  speak  of  a  company  shut  up  in  a 
house  as  being  in  a  state  of  dipping?  or,  when  coming 
forth  from  it,  as  dipping  out  of  it? 

Can  you  say  of  a  party  inclosed  in  a  carriage  that  they 
are  in  a  state  of  dipping?  or,  when  they  alight,  that  they 
dip  out  of  it? 

I  do  not  ask,  whether  such  phraseology  is  unusual;  but 


INTUSPOSITION.  •     199 

I  ask,  whether  it  is  not  absurdly  impossible  in  the  nature 
of  the  terms? 

But  it  is  most  intelligible,  most  legitimate,  and  most 
nakedly  true,  that  a  man  who  is  inclosed  within  the  walls 
of  a  deep,  dark  "  dungeon  "  is  in  a  state  of  mersion.  And  it 
is  no  less  true,  that  a  company  shut  up  in  a  house,  or 
carriage,  are  also  in  a  state  of  mersion;  from  which  they 
"  e-merge"  in  passing  into  the  open  air. 

"Where  is  the  ground  for  equivalence  between  dip  and 
immerse  ? 


"  Columbus  is  submerged,  and  the  inhabitants  are  mov- 
ing about  in  boats." 

"  The  Great  Eastern  is  submerged  in  steam  blowing  off 
from  no  less  than  twelve  escape  pipes." 

Was  the  town  of  Columbus,  or  the  Great  Eastern,  dip- 
ped ?  "Would  it  be  possible  to  say  that  they  were,  and  to 
talk  English  ? 


"  After  sixty  years'  immersion  the  gold  looks  as  fresh 
as  if  it  had  been  taken  out  of  the  bank." 

"  Eeport  in  regard  to  the  submerging  of  the  Atlantic 
cable." 

"  Some  authors  of  great  name  have  maintained  that  this 
part  of  the  globe  had  but  lately  emerged  from  the  sea." 

Is  it  customary  to  speak  of  a  ship  and  her  freight  of  gold 
being  dipped  in  the  ocean  for  the  space  of  "  sixty  years ?'» 

Is  dip  in  English,  any  more  than  tingo  in  Latin,  or 
^d-Tuj  in  Greek,  ever  applied  to  the  loss  of  a  vessel  at  sea? 

Of  the  thousand  times  ten  thousand  speaking  the  Eng- 
lish language,  and  who  have  spoken  of  the  la3'ing  of  the 
Atlantic  cable,  has  there  been  one  man,  woman,  or  child, 
educated  or  uneducated,  in  Great  Britain  or  America,  who 
has  ever  spoken  about  ^^ dipping"  the  Atlantic  cable  to  the 
bottom  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean? 

If  a  "part  of  the  Earth"  has  remained  since  the  morn- 
ing of  creation,  until  "  lately,"  covered  by  the  sea,  can  it 


200  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

be  said  to  have  been  "dipped"  all  that  time?  "Immersed" 
it  may  have  been  for  five  thousand  years,  or  five  times  five 
thousand,  in  the  depths  of  the  sea;  but  no  one  will  say 
that  it  could,  thus,  have  been  dipped,  except  he  should  wish 
to  make  "the  sentiment"  (or  himself)  "ridiculous." 


"The  lamp  extinguished,  he  was  immersed  in  total 
darkness." 

"  Entreaties  for  aid,  being  drowned  partly  in  the  con- 
cave of  the  steel  cap  in  which  his  head  was  immersed,  and 
partly  by  the  martial  tune." 

Does  the  extinguishing  of  the  flame  of  a  lamp,  and  con- 
sequent envelopment  in  darkness,  expound  the  modal  act 
of  dipping  ?     It  does  expound  mcrsion. 

Is  the  placing  "a  steel  cap"  on  the  head  an  exemplifi- 
cation of  the  modus  requisite  to  dip  the  head?  Thus  the 
head  is  "immersed." 

When  a  candle  blown  out  can  dip  a  body  (without  mov- 
ing it  a  hair's-breadth)  in  darkness;  and  when  moving  a 
"  cap "  to  invest  the  head,  can  be  said  to  dip  the  unmoved 
head  in  the  cap;  then,  we  may  be  ready  to  hear  what  can 
be  said  about  the  equivalence  of  dip  and  "immerse." 


"  Rolling  over  the  edge  of  the  moat  was  immersed  in 
the  mud  and  marsh." 

"  A  box  on  the  ear  overthrew  the  falconer  into  the  cis- 
tern ;  his  wrath  was  noways  appeased  by  the  cold  immer- 
sion." 

"  Disgorging  the  sea-water  which  he  had  swallowed 
during  his  immersion." 

A  man  leaping  over  the  wall  of  a  town,  and  rolling  into 
the  mud  and  marsh  of  the  moat,  docs  not  present  a  good 
picture  of  a  dipping;  either  as  to  the  mode  or  the  quantum 
of  force. 

A  knock-down  blow,  tumbling  a  man  into  a  cistern  of 


INTUSPOSITION.  201 

water,  is  as  little  orthodox  in  these  particulars.  To  effect 
an  immersion  they  will  answer  quite  well;  but  another 
fashion  and  a  gentler  mode  would  be  r^^uired  by  most 
who  sought  a  dipping. 

I  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  cases  of  mersion 
lasted  but  a  short  time.  There  is  nothing  in  the  nature 
of  a  mersion  which  requires  that  it  should  be  protracted; 
but  when  it  is  most  brief  in  its  continuance,  it  is  still, 
essentially,  distinguished  from  a  dipping.  It  is  so  in  man- 
ner and  intention.  In  both  these  respects  the  above  cases 
differ  from  a  dipping.  A  man  who  falls  into  the  mud 
cannot  be  said  to  dip  himself  into  it;  nor  can  a  man  who 
receives  a  blow  on  the  ear  and  falls  into  the  water  be  said 
to  be  dipped  into  it  by  the  striker. 

It  is  especially  to  be  noted,  that  in  neither  of  the  above 
cases  does  the  immerser  take  out  the  object  immersed. 
There  was  no  limitation  of  the  mersion  on  the  part  of  the 
merser.  Any  of  these  parties  might  have  continued  to  be 
mersed  to  the  present  hour,  except  they  had,  otherwise, 
recovered  themselves  from  their  mersed  condition. 

It  is  not  so  in  a  dipping.  The  dipper  always  intends  to 
put  the  object  dipped  only  momentarily  into  the  element; 
and  does  recover  it,  himself,  out  of  it.  Unless  this  is  done 
it  is  not  a  case  of  dipping. 

The  mere  brevity  of  the  mersion  is  no  rational  ground 
for  confounding  the  act  of  dipping  and  the  state  of  mersion. 

A  man  who  falls  overboard  or  is  knocked  overboard,  as 
in  one  of  the  above  cases,  and  is  speedily  recovered  from 
the  sea,  may  be  said  to  have  been  immersed;  he  cannot  be 
said  to  have  been  dipped.  A  bucket  which  is  let  down 
from  the  same  vessel,  into  the  sea,  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing water,  is  properly  said  to  be  dipped  into  the  sea. 
The  time  of  continuance  in  the  sea  by  the  man  and  the 
bucket  may  be  the  same;  and  yet,  by  reason  of  the  differ- 
ences indicated,  the  only  legitimate  designation  of  the  one 
is  by  immersion,  and  of  the  other  by  dipping. 

It  is,  however,  by  the  occurrence  of  these  occasional 


202  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

cases  of  brief  immersion,  tliat  tlie  semblance,  and  only  the 
semblance,  of  justification,  for  tlie  confounding  of  two 
terms  whose  broad  usage  is  so  diverse,  can  exist. 

Aad  why  wish  to  establish  such  confusion  ?  "Why  not 
be  content  to  call  "  a  spade  a  spade,"  and  a  dipping  a  dip- 
ping? The  natural  and  unavoidable  answer  is:  There  is  a 
necessity  for  confounding  dip  and  immerse,  because  of  the 
error  which  confounds  /Sarrrw  and  fta-ri%u).  Dipping  lias  been 
introduced  into  the  Christian  ordinance  under  the  plea 
(honestly  meant  no  doubt),  that  "  the  word  of  inspiration 
demanded  it;"  but,  on  examination,  the  Greek  loord  for 
dipping  is  not  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  inspired  record! 
Then  the  position  is  assumed,  that  "  the  word  that  is  there 
means  the  same  thing."  It  is  shown,  however,  not  to  mean 
the  same  thing;  but  to  have  a  usage  perfectly  antipodal. 
Then  there  is  an  attempt  to  mix,  "  through-other,^^  this  dip 
and  immerse;  and  by  discarding  dip  from  the  designation 
of  the  mode  of  administration,  and  by  the  use  of  immerse, 
to  make  some  claim  to  the  usage  of  fianrO^w,  from  which 
usage  dip  is  wholly  excluded. 

We  cannot  allow  this  mixing  up  of  iron  and  clay.  The 
magic  stone  of  truth  smites  it,  and  it  crumbles  into  its 
discordant  elements.  If  the  performance  of  a  dipping  be 
insisted  upon,  we  insist  on  its  being  called  just  what  it  is 
— a  dipping — and  not  an  immersion,  just  what  it  is  not. 

INTUSPOSITION   WITH   INFLUENCE. 

The  cases  of  mersion,  now  stated,  are  not  such  as  are 
accompanied  with  any  marked  influence  on  the  object 
mersed.  They  were  designed  to  show  the  radical  idea 
of  intusposition  without  limitation  of  depth,  mode,  force, 
or  time.  It  is  obvious,  that  any  object  so  situated  must 
be  exposed  to  the  fullest  influence  of  the  encompassing 
medium.  The  result  of  such  influence  will  depend  on 
the  nature  of  the  object  exposed  to  it.  A  rock,  and  a  bag 
of  salt,  a  human  being  and  a  fish,  will  be  very  differently 
aflfected  by  encompassing  waters. 
\, 


INTUSPOSITION  FOR   THE   SAKE   OF  INFLUENCE.         203 

One  or  two  passages  will  suffice  to  present  this  aspect 
of  the  case. 

"  His  horse     .... 
Eushed  to  the  cliff,  and,  having  reached  it,  stood. 
At  once  the  shock  unseated  him :  he  flew 
Sheer  o'er  the  crag2;y  barrier:  and  immersed 
Deep  in  the  flood,  found,  when  he  sought  it  not, 
The  death  he  had  deserved,  and  died  alone." 

"At  length,  when  all  had  long  supposed  him  dead, 
By  cold  submersion,  razor,  rope,  or  lead." 

"But  among  other  nations  'submersion'  (which  is  the 
French  for  '  drowning'),  leads  oj5  as  the  most  fatal  of 
accidents." 

"What  would  be  thought  of  the  man  who  would  intro- 
duce dipping  into  these  passages  as  an  equivalent?  Neither 
dip,  tingo,  nor  /Sarrrtt*  drowns  any  one.  Mersion  does,  and 
does  by  necessity  of  its  nature,  unless  deliverance  comes 
from  some  ab  extra  influence. 


"  The  clouds    .... 
More  ardent  as  the  disk  emerges  more." 

The  influence  upon  the  sun  of  an  immersion  within  the 
clouds  is  to  quench  the  eflulgence  of  his  rays. 

"  The  river  flows  redundant ; 
Then  rolling  back,  in  his  capacious  lap 
Ingulfs  their  whole  militia,  quick  immersed." 

The  mersion  is  destructive.  The  mode  is  by  the  water 
coming  over  its  object.  A  movement  by  which  a  dipping 
cannot  be  efiected.  "  Ingulf"  is  the  equivalent  of  "  im- 
merse."   Is  it  ever  the  equivalent  of  dip  f 


INTUSPOSITION   FOR   THE   SAKE   OF   INFLUENCE. 

This  is  a  development  quite  in  advance  of  the  other, 
while  it  furnishes  a  stepping-stone  for  still  farther  progress. 


204  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"  Then  on  the  warm  and  genial  earth,  that  hides 
The  smoking  manure,  and  o'erspreads  it  all, 
He  places  lightly,  and,  as  time  subdues 
The  rage  of  fermentation,  plunges  deep 
In  the  soft  medium,  till  they  stand  immersed.^'' 

So  Cowper  describes  the  formation  of  a  hotbed,  and  the 
mersion  of  seeds  within  it,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
them  within  its  full  influence.  In  this  instance  the  in- 
fluence is  not  destructive,  but  vitalizing. 

The  passage,  also,  aiibrds  opportunity  to  see  the  dis- 
criminating difference  between  dip  and  "plunge."  Plunge 
does  not  bring  its  object  out  of  the  element  into  which  it 
carries  it.  Dip  does.  These  words  are  never  truly  equiv- 
alent. Immerse  agrees  with  "plunge,"  in  not  bringing 
out  the  object  which  it  has  caused  to  be  introduced;  but 
it  differs  from  it,  va.  that  the  latter  term  is  limited  as  to  the 
form  of  its  action,  and  the  nature  of  its  force,  and  belongs 
to  those  words  which  are  immediately  expressive  of  action; 
and  not  of  state  or  condition. 

This  is  clearly  exhibited  in  the  above  passage,  where 
plunge  expresses  the  act  by  which  the  condition  denoted 
by  "immersed"  is  secured.  And  as  here,  so  everywhere 
there  is  some  satellitic  word  of  action  attendant  on  im- 
merse (expressed  or  understood),  to  perform  its  behests. 

"Whelm'd  under  our  dark  gulfs  those  arms  shall  lie, 
That  blaze  so  dreadful  in  each  Trojan  eye; 
And  deep  beneath  a  sandy  mountain  hurl'd, 
Immersed  remain  this  terror  of  the  world. 

These  his  cold  rites,  and  this  his  watery  tomb." 

By  such  mersion  it  was  sought  to  destroy  Achilles. 
The  element,  again,  moves  to  invest  its  object,  in  contra- 
diction of  Dr.  Carson's  inconsiderately  maintained  posi- 
tion, that  immerse  must  always  dip.  The  act  causative 
of  the  state  of  mersion  is,  here,  "  hurl'd,"  as  before  it  was 
"  plunge,"  and,  yet  previously  was,  "  roll  back,"  showing 
how  absolutely  free  is  immerse  from  all  form  of  act. 
Wliatever  can  effect  a  condition  of  mersion,  immerse  does 
not  express  but  accepts  as  servitor. 


IMMERSED  IN   FURS,  205 


"IMMERSED  m  FURS." 

The  influence  sought  to  be  secured  bj  this  mersion  "was 
such  warmth  as  miglit  be,  thus,  attained  in  the  Polar 
regions.  So  says  Dr.  Kane.  He,  probably,  had  good 
reason  for  his  preference  of  a  mersion  in  furs,  over  a  dip. 

The  cases  of  mersion^  thus  far  considered,  have  been  all 
primary  and  physical.  They  have  all  been  marked  by 
influence  in  some  aspect. 

1.  Capability  for  influence,  rather  than  its  actual  exer- 
cise. 2.  Controlling  influence  exercised,  but  without  de- 
sign in  securing  it.  3.  Mersion  sought  for  the  sake  of  its 
controlling  influence.  This  influence  we  have  seen  to  be 
most  varied  in  character,  but  always  controlling  in  power. 
We  have,  also,  seen  that  the  state  of  physical  mersion  is 
induced  in  ways  and  by  forces  most  various.  And,  farther, 
that  the  element  may  come  to  the  object,  as  well  as  the 
object  be  brought  to  the  element. 

We  have,  also,  seen  that  the  mersing  substance  may  be 
"furs,"  "clouds,"  "soft  earth,"  "steel  cap,"  "house," 
"carriage,"  "  dungeon  walls,"  &c.,  &c.,  as  well  as  water. 

Now,  all  these  diversities  uniting  together  in  the  unity 
of  controlling  influence,  will  prepare  us,  in  passing  from 
the  consideration  of  physical  mersions,  to  those  which  are 
not  physical,  to  see  a  great  variety  of  development  as  to 
forces  and  forms  of  agencies,  while  there  will,  everywhere, 
be  present  a  resultant  controlling  influence.  This  is  the 
grand  resultant  product  of  physical  mersions.  To  secure 
this  result  as  the  end  (and  not  the  mersion),  mersion  has 
been  sought. 

Where  no  mersion  can  be  secured,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  but  where  it  is  desired  to  express  the  controlling 
influence  of  any  person  or  thing;  it  will  be  natural  to 
employ  such  form  of  phraseology  as  is  expressive  of  a 
mersion,  although  no  mersion  is  designed,  even  in  imagina- 
tion, or,  it  may  be,  is  conceivable,  though  we  should  tax 
our  imagination  to  the  u^ttermost. 

We  will  see  that  this,  in  fact,  has  been  done. 


206  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


INTUSPOSITION,  VERBAL,  EXPRESSING   INFLUENCE. 

Forms  of  expression  whicli  are  designed  to  express  con- 
trolling influence;  and  which  take  their  form  from  physical 
mersion  as  the  source  of  such  influence;  may  bo  regarded, 
sometimes,  as  properly  figurative;  but,  most  commonly,  as 
a  direct  expression  of  the  thought  without  any  design  to 
present  it  indirectly  through  a  picture  of  a  physical  trans- 
action. 

The  following  passages  may  be  regarded  as  designed 
picturings : 

"  The  world  was  fast  sinking  into  a  sea  of  drunkenness; 
and  the  only  wonder  is  that  it  was  not  entirely  submerged 
under  the  flood." 

"  The  tide  of  Southern  bank  suspension,  in  its  sweep 
northward,  submerged  Philadelphia,  but  was  stopped  at 
New  York." 

But  the  following  everyday  phrases  are  not  to  be  inter- 
preted as  formal  figure ;  but  as  organic  forms  springing  from 
a  physical  parentage  whose  lineaments  they  clearly  reveal 
in  their  structure.  The  grosser  elements  of  their  original, 
however,  they  do  not  retain;  but  only  an  unsubstantial 
form,  embodying,  still,  the  vital  spirit  of  controlhng  in- 
fluence. These  phrases,  therefore,  are  to  be  regarded  as 
organic  unities,  having  a  common  life,  and  not  as  disjunct 
words. 

"  We  are  at  last  immersed  in  the  horrors  of  civil  war." 

"  Kings  in  the  plenitude  of  power,  if  immersed  in  ignor- 
ance and  prejudice,  are  less  free  than  sages  in  a  dungeon 
and  bound  with  material  chains." 

"  No  longer  immersed  in  the  ignorance  of  heathenish 
idolatry." 

"  The  Irish  were  a  lettered  people,  while  the  Saxons 
were  still  immersed  in  ignorance." 

"  Some  of  the  places  were  so  completely  immersed  in 
Popish  darkness  as  not  to  present  the  best  points  for  mis- 
sionary efibrt." 


INTUSPOSITION,   VERBAL,    EXPRESSING   INFLUENCE.       207 

"Finding  no  foundation  for  a  rational  liberty  on  the 
emersion  of  the  country  from  the  corruption  and  tyranny 
of  centuries,  strove  to  save  it  by  terrorism." 

"  Some  time  before  commenced  the  pecuniary  embar- 
rassments of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  his  convulsive  struggles 
to  emerge  from  them." 

"Instead  of  becoming  immersed  in  secularity." 

"  Of  Calvary — that  bids  us  leave  a  world 
Immersed  in  darkness  and  in  death,  and  seek 
A  better  country." 

In  all  these  passages,  "immersed"  is  combined  with 
"ignorance,  prejudice,  tyranny,  corruption,  secularity,  Po- 
pish darkness,"  &c.,  for  the  simple  and  single  purpose  of 
developing,  in  the  completest  manner,  that  influence  which 
is  appropriate  to  its  adjunct.  "In"  is  merely  the  formal 
vinculum  necessary  to  the  case;  and  is  not  to  be  pressed 
upon  as  though  it  made  demand  for  a  picture  to  be  wrought 
out  by  the  imagination.  "  Immersed  in — ignorance,"  di- 
rectly and  prosaically  declares  that  those  S2:)oken  of  are 
under  the  controlling  influence  of  ignorance.  Or,  we  must  say, 
that  "  under,"  in  this  expression,  demands  figure,  and 
pictures  some  poor  wretch  as  crushed  beneath  some  huge 
weight.  Where,  then,  shall  we  find  any  direct  channel  for 
the  utterance  of  our  thoughts? 

It  is  not  the  case,  however,  that  "  immerse,"  used  with 
an  unphysical  adjunct,  does  necessarily  express  influence 
exerted  over  its  object.  We  have  seen  that  immersed 
objects  are  variousl}'-  affected  according  to  their  nature; 
and  that  some  (as  a  rock),  when  immersed,  are  affected 
only  as  occupying  a  position  within  the  encompassing 
element.  This  affords  the  basis  for  the  use,  under  appro- 
priate circumstances,  of  immerse  as  simply  indicating  the 
fact  of  encompassing  sources  of  influence,  without  their 
power  being  felt. 

This  usage  is  exemplified  in  the  following  passage: 

"  The  missionary  lives  immersed  in  the  sins  of  heathen- 
ism that  he  may  raise  them  from  death  to  a  life  of  right- 
eousness." 


208  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

The  missionary  may,  like  Lot  in  Sodom,  be  "vexed  with 
the  filthy  conversation"  of  the  depraved  around  him;  but, 
as  the  rock  repels  the  encompassing  billows,  so  he,  while 
"immersed  in  the  sins  of  heathenism,"  does,  by  divine 
grace,  remain  nncontaminated  by  their  corrupting  power. 

"Immersed  in  sins"  would,  ordinarily,  imply  being 
under  their  full,  morally  corrupting  influence;  but  appHed 
to  the  preacher  of  the  gospel  encompassed  by  the  immo- 
ralities of  heathenism,  it  has  no  such  meaning.  The  fact 
of  intusposition,  only,  is  indicated. 

INFLUENCE    WITHOUT    INTUSPOSITION. 

"  Immerse  "  does  not  always  bring  into  view  intusposi- 
tion, either  in  the  limited  measure,  or  as  expressive  of  the 
ideas  now  considered. 

The  physical  form  ceases  to  be  even  a  transparent  shadow 
through  which  influence  is  made  visible.  Both  the  form 
of  the  shadow,  and  the  nature  of  the  influence,  disappear 
together. 

It  is  quite  common  to  use  "immerse"  in  phraseological 
combinations  in  which  it  expresses  the  most  thorough 
engagedness ;  the  most  strenuous  mental  effort.  If  an  ex- 
planation of  the  ground  of  this  usage  were  asked,  there 
ini2:ht  not  be  common  consent  shown  in  the  reply;  but 
this  would  only  indicate  how  far,  and  how  completely,  the 
usage  has  been  removed  from  the  physical  fact.  The 
image  has  been  worn  ofi'  from  the  coin  by  long  and  varied 
handling. 

Perhaps  the  passage,  already  quoted,  respecting  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott's  pecuniary  embarrassment,  may  guide  to  the  true 
solution.  He  being  "  immersed  in  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment," made  "convulsive  struggles"  to  extricate  himself 
from  it,  and  succeeded.  Any  man  physically  immersed 
must  use  all  eftbrt  to  save  himself  or  perish.  "  Immerse" 
may  thus  come  to  be  intimately  associated  with  the  effort 
necessar}^  to  escape  from  such  position ;  and,  then,  with 
mental  eftbrt  without  such  appendages.     The  use  of  "  im- 


INFLUENCE  WITHOUT  INTUSPOSITION.        209 

mersion,"  without  any  immersion,  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  him- 
self, may  be  here,  appropriately,  introduced  : 

"  The  boat  received  the  shower  of  brine  which  the  ani- 
mal spouted  aloft,  and  the  adventurous  Triptolemus  had  a 
full  share  of  the  immersion." 

Here  is  an  "  immersion  by  sprinkling"  from  the  showery 
brine.  So  v/e  have  seen  a  bapting  by  sprinkling  among  the 
Greeks,  a  Unction  by  sprinkling  among  the  Latins,  and  a 
dipping  by  sprinkling  in  Milton's  Comus.  Do  the  framers 
of  this  phraseology  (intending  by  it  to  construct  a  crown 
of  supremest  ridicule  for  their  opponents),  feel  alarmed  ? 
"  Stones  thrown  up  into  the  air  may  come  down  on  our 
own  pate." 

It  is  beyond  all  controversy,  that  one  of  the  best  writers 
of  the  English  language  does  use  the  word  "immersion" 
where  no  immersion,  in  fact,  took  place ;  but  only  a  thor- 
ough wetting  by  means  of  a  profuse  sprinkling.  This  is 
the  incontrovertible  fact.  Did  "  the  Wizard  of  the  ISTorth" 
write  good  English?  Were  the  laws  of  language  unknown 
to  "  the  Great  Unknown  ?" 

Unless  these  framers  of  sentences  will  crown,  with  their 
handiwork.  Sir  Walter  as  "  Lord  of  the  Ridiculous,"  they 
must  even  accept  of  "Immersion  by  Sprinkling." 

If,  now,  the  author  of  Waverley  is  justiiied  in  writing, 
not  under  the  poetic  afflatus,  nor  as  "  one  of  the  most  im- 
passioned of  men"  (the  explanation  given  of  a  similar 
Greekly  baptism  by  Dr.  Euller),  but  in  homely  prose,  of 
a  thorough  wetting  as  an  "  immersion;"  then,  we  are  justified 
in  speaking  of  a  thorough  injiuence  as  an  "  immersion"  where 
no  immersion  takes  place;  or  thoroughly  engaged,  mentally 
occupied,  as  an  "  immersion,"  when  no  immersion,  real  or 
imaginary,  takes  place. 

It  is  this  latter  which  it  is  proposed,  now,  to  exemplify : 

"  While  Dr.  Chalmers,  immersed  in  Parliamentary  re- 
ports as  to  the  operation  of  the  Poor  Laws,  was  engaged  "  . . 

"  I^ovember  saw  Dr.  C.  once  more  immersed  in  his  pro- 
fessorial labors." 

14 


210  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"  The  Secretary  of  "War  is  immersed  in  business." 

"  I  find  myself  immersed  in  the  matters  of  which  I  know 
least." 

"  Men  of  business  immersed  in  the  cares  of  an  extended 
traffic." 

"  We  in  England  are  generally  immersed  in  our  own 
concerns." 

"  Deeply  immersed  in  calculations  from  the  simple  unit 
to  millions,  billions,  and  trillions." 

"  As  he  rode  on  immersed  in  these  unpleasant  contem- 
plations." 

"  The}'  rode  as  men  deeply  immersed  in  their  own 
thoughts." 

"Walking  up  and  down  the  room  immersed  in  thought." 

"  The  busy,  bustling  merchant  immersed  in  all  the  cal- 
culation of  this  world's  traffic." 

"  He  was  a  little  too  much  immersed  in  worldly  schemes. 
He  attached  himself  so  eagerly  to  business  that  he  thought 
every  hour  lost." 

"  He  was  so  much  immersed  in  politics  that  he  did  not 
care  to  be  annoyed  with  it." 

"  And  immersed  himself  among  a  parcel  of  worm-eaten 
folios." 

"  Had  taken  up  the  Prayer-Book;  she  seemed  immersed 
in  devotional  duty." 

"  Ha !  yes,  I  was  so  immersed  in  my  book." 

"  Continued  immersed  in  the  fascinating  perusal." 

"  The  noonday  prayer-meeting  comes,  happily,  at  that 
hour  when  we  would  be  most  likely  to  be  immersed  in  the 
business  or  pleasures  of  the  world." 

"  The  padre  was  on  his  way  to  church,  and  immersed  in 
the  study  of  his  sermon." 

"  I've  just  dipped  into  the  works  of  such  an  author. 
Kow,  this  far  from  signifying  that  I  feel  my  mind,  as  it 
were,  immersed  in  the  author's  writings." 

Whatever  may  be  supposed  to  be  the  precise  physical 
literality  on  which  such  usage  of  "immerse"  rests;  there 


MEANING   ESTABLISHED    BY    USAGE.  211 

can  be  no  doubt,  but  that,  without  suggestion  of  intus- 
positiou,  it  does,  directly,  express  thorough  mental  engaged- 
ness. 

MEANING   ESTABLISHED   BY   USAGE. 

The  examination  of  this  word  has  been  pursued  suffi- 
ciently far  for  our  purpose.     The  conclusions  reached  are: 

1.  Immerse  expresses  no  form  of  act ;  but  demands  and 
secures  for  its  object  intusposition,  without  limitation  of 
size  in  the  object,  force  in  the  agency,  depth  in  the  ele- 
ment, or  time  in  duration. 

2.  When  the  continuance  of  the  intusposition  is  brief, 
it  is  not  because  of  any  limitation,  or  action  on  the  part 
of  immerse;  but  from  causes  foreign  to  it,  and  for  which 
it  has  no  responsibility.  No  alliance,  therefore,  can  be 
established  with  dij)  on  this  ground,  any  more  than  be- 
tween dip  and  sink,  or  ingulf,  or  swallow  vip,  &c. ;  all  of  whose 
objects  may,  by  foreign  influences,  be  recovered  within  a 
brief  space  from  the  condition  to  which  they  have  been 
introduced. 

3.  The  preposition  in  composition — "m" — merse, — has 
a  purely  local  force,  and  does  not  indicate  movement  of  the 
object  into — put  into,  dip  into — as  some  writers  have  as- 
sumed. It  is  as  legitimate  to  "immerse"  by  bringing  the 
water  to  the  object,  as  by  bringing  the  object  to  the  water, 
notwithstanding  that  Dr.  Carson  (whose  like  we  are  told 
the  world  will  not  see  again  for  "a  millenarj'  of  years") 
declares,  that  put  into  is  so  ingrained  in  the  word  that  when 
it  does  not  "put  into"  it  still  means  jpu^  into. 

4.  It  may  express  a  thorough  iveiting  (without  intusposi- 
tion), by  sprinkling  or  otherwise. 

5.  It  may  express  death  by  drowning. 


212  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 

6.  It  expresses  thorough  influence  of  any  kind;  the  nature 
determined  by  the  adjunct. 

7.  It  expresses  thorough  mental  engagedness. 

8.  Immerse  is  antipodal  to  dip.  Baptist  writings  which 
make  these  terms  equivalents  can  be  of  no  controversial 
value.  Baptist  Bible  translation  which  commands  "  im- 
merse," and  Baptist  ritual  practice  which  substitutes  dip, 
have  neither  part  nor  lot  in  each  other. 

9.  While  dip,  tingo,  and  fid-rw  are  joined  in  the  closest 
bonds,  immerse  is,  by  nature,  widely  disjoined  from  them 
all. 


MERGO.  213 


MEPvGO. 
ITS   MEANING    AND    USAGE. 

1.  Mergo  expresses  no  definite  form  of  action ;  but  makes 
the  demand,  in  primary  use,  of  iutusposition  for  its  object 
as  its  essential  requisite. 

This  it  secures  by  forms  of  action,  and  by  forces  of 
agency,  in  endless  variety.  The  magnitude  of  its  objects, 
and  the  depth  of  penetration  to  which  it  introduces  them, 
are  also  most  varied  in  character. 

The  duration  of  the  mersion  effected  is  without  limit; 
although,  as  in  any  other  case  where  an  object  has  been 
sunk,  ingulfed,  or  swallowed  up,  the  object  mersed  may 
be  recovered,  from  its  state  of  mersion,  by  other  influences. 

2.  Capability  of  influence,  necessarily,  attaches  to  such 
state  of  iutusposition. 

This  influence  will  vary  in  development  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  object  mersed,  and  the  nature  of  the 
mersing  element ;  which  appears  in  Latin  usage  to  take  a 
somewhat  wider  range  than  in  Greek  or  English. 

3.  The  secondary  use  of  this  word  has  its  development, 
necessarily,  in  the  direction  of  a  controlling  influence. 
Physical  investiture  is  thrown  aside.  As,  in  physical  mer- 
sion, whatever  force  can  secure  intusposition  is  an  equally 
legitimate  representative  of  the  will  of  mergo ;  so,  in  the 
secondary  use,  whatever  agency  (no  matter  in  what  form 
it  may  develop  its  power)  is  capable  of  exerting  a  control- 
ling influence  over  its  object,  may  claim  mergo  to  express, 
not  the  form  of  action,  but  the  measure  of  the  influence. 

4.  To  all  these  characteristics,  primary  or  secondary,  dip 
is,  by  usage,  and  must  ever  remain  by  necessity  of  nature, 
a  perfect  stranger. 


214  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

PRIMAKY. 

ILLUSTRATION    BY    USAGE. 

Primumque  pedis  vestigia  tinxi: 
Poplite  dcinde  tenus.     Neque  eo  contenta  recingor 
Nudaque  merger  aquis Ovid. 

And  I  am  mersed  naked  in  the  waters. 

In  medias  quoties  visum  captantia  collum 
Brachia  mersit  aquas,  nee  se  deprehendit  in  illis !      .     Ovid. 
He  mersed  his  arms  into  the  midst  of  the  waters. 

Juvat  esse  sub  undis; 
Et  modo  tola  cavS,  submorgore  membra  pallude 

Nunc  proferre  caput Ovid. 

And  to  submerse  all  their  limbs  in  the  deep  pool. 

Furit  JEsacus,  inque  profundum 
Pronus  abit,  lethique  viam  sin6  fine  retentat. 
^quor  amat :  noraenquc  manet,  quia  mcrgitur,  illi,   .     Ovid. 

The  name  (mergus)  remains  to  him,  because  he  is  mersed, 

Et  mergi  projecta  non  possunt,  licet  gravia  sint.       .     Seneca. 
Things  cast  into  it  cannot  be  mersed,  although  heavy. 

Nihil  mergi tur  in  Sicilise  fonte  Phintia.      .         .         .    Pliny. 

Nothing  is  mersed  in  Phintia,  a  fountain  of  Sicily. 

The  first  of  these  passages  shows  the  distinctive  use  of 
tingo  and  mergo.  The  foot  playing  in  and  out  of  the  water 
is  dipiJcd;  the  body  under  the  water  "gliding  hither  and 
thither,"  is  in  a  state  of  mersion.  How  the  body  became 
mersed,  there  is  not  a  ray  of  light  to  indicate  either  from 
mergo  or  any  other  quarter.  It  may  have  been  by  walk- 
ing gradually  into  deeper  water;  it  may  have  been  by  leap- 
ing from  the  bank,  at  once,  into  deep  water;  or  it  may  have 
been  partially  by  walking,  and,  then,  by  slowly  sinking 
down.  We  know  that  it  was  not  by  dipping,  for  dipping 
puts  nothing  into  a  state  of  mersion,  but  takes  out,  promptly, 
what  it  puts  in,  and  is,  therefore,  what  it  is — a  dipping. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  head  remains   unmersed, 


MERSING   MATERIAL   VARIOUS.  215 

while  there  is  no  limitation  in  the  language — "I  am 
mersecl  in  the  waters." 

In  the  third  quotation,  the  frogs  are  wholly  underwater, 
and  we  know  that  this  is  by  leapinfj;  hut  will  any  one  say 
that  ^^mcrgo"  means  io  leap?  Yet  it  does  mean  "to  leap" 
just  as  much  as  it  means  any  other  act  by  which  mersion 
is  effected. 

The  last  passage  expounds  the  origin  of  the  name 
"Mergus,"  a  class  of  waterfowl.  It  arose  from  an  attempt 
of  -<^sacus  to  drown  himself  in  the  sea;  when  he  was 
changed  by  Tethys,  in  commiseration,  into  a  Ilergas. 

MERSING    MATERIAL    VARIOUS. 

Pandere  res  alta  in  terra  et  eahgine  mersas.      .     Virgil. 

To  reveal  things  mersed  in  the  deep  earth  and  in  darkness. 
Ferrum  mersuni  in  robora.         .         .         ,         .    Lucretius. 

Iron  mersed  in  hard  loood. 

Mersis  in  Sinuni  manibus.  ....     Quintillian. 

Sands  tnersed  in  the  bosom. 

riumcn  specu  mergitur.       .....     Pliny. 

The  river  is  mersed  in  the  cave. 
Mergit  se  limo Pliny. 

Merses  in  the  mud. 
Mergcre  manum  in  era  ursse Martial. 

Merse  the  hand  into  the  mouth  of  the  hear. 
Mersisque  in  corpore  rostris Ovid. 

Dogs'  mouths  mersed  in  the  body  (of  Acta^on). 
Csecis  ego  mersa  cavernis.  .....     Ovid. 

Immersed  in  dark  caverns. 
Membra  simul  pecudis.  .  .  Mergit  in  £ere  cavo.      Ovid. 

Merses  the  limbs  of  the  ram  in  the  hollow  brass. 
Mersitque  sues  in  corticc  vultus.         .         .         .     Ovid. 

And  mersed  her  features  in  the  bark. 

This  last  passage,  in  which  Myrrha  is  transformed  into 
a  tree,  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  a  state  of  mersion;  it 
can  scarcely  be  made  to  accord  with  a  dipping. 


216  CLASSIC   BAPTISxM. 

The  following  passages,  showing  the  covering  material 
brought  over  the  object,  are,  in  like  manner,  inconsistent 
with  any  other  meaning  than  that  of  condition.  The  first 
refers  to  the  general  deluge;  the  second  to  the  eyelid  being 
drawn  over  the  eye. 

Aut  racrsffi  culmina  villffi  naviga't Ovid. 

Sails  over  the  top  of  the  niersed  house. 
Lumina  somno  mergiinus Valerius  Flaccus. 

We  merse  the  eyes  in  sleep. 

INTUSPOSITION   "WITH    INFLUENCE. 

Corporeasqne  dapes  avidam  dcmersit  in  alvum.      .         .     Ovid. 

Whoever  first  de-mersed  flesh  food  into  his  greedy  belly. 
Sive  virgam,  sive  frondem  dcmersis,  lapidem  post  paueos  dies 

extrahis Seneca- 

A  twig  or  leaf  having  been  let  down,  you  may  draw  it 
out,  after  a  few  days,  a  stone. 

DROWN. 

Tyberinus,  qui  in  trajectu  Albulse  amnis  submersus.  Livy. 

Tyberinus,  who  in  the  passage  of  the  river  Albula  was 
submersed. 
Albula,  qncm  Tiberini,  mersus  Tibcrinus  in  iindis.     Fastorum. 
Albula,  called  Tiber,  because  Tiberinus  was  mersed  in  its 
waters. 
Hoc  exilium  est  mihi  instar  proccllas  quo  agitor,  non  sub- 
mergor.     Summersus  fuisscm,  si  me  interemisset. 

Tristium,  xi,  13  (note). 
This  exile  is  to  me  like  a  storm  by  which  I  am  tost,  not 
submersed.    I  had  bceii  submersed,  if  I  had  perished. 
Yertere  MieonioB,  polagoque  immergere,  nautas.         .        Ovid. 
Could  transform  the  Mceonian  sailors,  and  immerse  them 
in  the  sea. 
Ecce  super  medics  fluctus  nigcr  arcuo  aquarum 
Frangitur :  et  rupta  mersum  caput  obruit  undil.         .        Ovid. 
The  bursting  billow  rolls  over  his  mersed  head. 


DESTRUCTIVE   TO   INANIMATE   OBJECTS.  217 

Coeunt,  et  saxa  trabesque 
Conjiciunt;  mergnnt  que  viros  mergunt  qno  carinas.     Ovid. 

They  hurl  rocks  and  beams,  and  merse  men  and  ships. 
Spargite  me  influctns,  vastoque  immergite  ponto.       .    ^neid. 

Cast  me  into  the  ivaves,  and  immerse  me  in  the  deep  sea. 
Sj)umosS,  unda  immcrserat  viriim.        .         .         .         .    JEneid. 

The  envious  Triton  mersed  in  the  foaming  wave  the  man. 
Medioque  sub  £equore  mersit ^neid. 

What  God  mersed  you  in  mid  ocean  ? 
Nee  mo  Dcus  ajquore  mersit -    ^neid. 

Nor  has  any  God  mersed  me  in  the  sea. 
Doctus  eris,  vivam  musto  mersare  Falerno.         .       Hor.  Satir. 

Merse  it,  living,  in  Falernian  wine. 

This  common  use  of  "  mergo"  to  denote  death  by  drown- 
ing, is,  of  itself,  conchisive  evidence  that  it  cannot  mean 
to  dip.  There  is  no  evidence  that  dip,  in  English,  tingo^ 
in  Latin,  or  [idTZTio,  in  Greek,  has  any  such  usage. 


DESTRUCTIVE. 

Mersa  rate,  naufragus  assem  dum  rogat.  .         .     Juvenal. 

One  shipwrecked,  his  vessel  mersed,  begs  a  penny. 

Unda  .  .  . 

Nee  levius,  quam  siquis  Athon  Pindumvc  revulsos 
Sede  sua  totos  in  apertum  evcrterit  a)quor 
Prsecipitata  ruit:  pariterque  et  pondere  et  ictu, 

Mergit  in  ima  ratcm. Ovid. 

The  ivave,  not  lighter  than  Athos  or  Pindus,  falls  headlong  ; 
And  equally  by  the  weight  and  by  the  blow,  merses  the  ship  ti 
the  bottom. 
3Iox  eadem  Tcucras  fuerat  mcrsura  carinas    .         .     Ovid. 

Scylla  loould  have  mersed  the  Trojan  ships. 
Pars  maxima  classis  mergitnr.  ....     Lucan. 

The  greatest  part  of  the  fleet  is  mersed. 

Quassa,  tamen  nostra  est,  nee  mersa,  nee  obruta  navis. 

Tristium. 
Our  ship  is  shattered,  but  not  mersed  or  whelmed. 


218  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Quid  navio;ia  sarcina  depressa — quo  minus  mergantur. 

Seneca^  Nat.  Quces. 
Wliat  hinders  but  that  vessels,  depressed  by  their  lading, 
may  be  mersed. 

Again  we  must  profoundly  feel,  that  between  such  usage 
and  a  dipping  there  can  be  no  common  sympathy. 

ASSIMILATION. 

Fkivius  in  Euphratem  mcrgitur Pliny. 

The  river  is  mersed  into  the  Euphrates. 

The  influence  of  water  intusposed  in  water  is  the  most 
complete  incorporation  and  assimilation ;  the  larger  body 
controlling  and  absorbing  the  lesser. 

This  afi:brds  the  basis  for  a  secondary  use  of  an  important 
character.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  point  to  any  exem- 
plification among  Latin  writers ;  but  it  is  quite  common, 
in  English  usage,  in  connection,  not  with  immerse,  but  with 
merge.  This  word  is  employed  daily  in  the  sense  expressive 
of  incorporation  and  assimilation,  but,  almost,  never  in  re- 
lation with  physical  elements. 

A  few  passages  will  illustrate  this  statement. 

"  It  provides  for  merging  our  Presbyteries  into  the  Synods 
of  the  General  Assembly.  If  we  are  to  have  union,  let  it 
be  union  ;  but  if  absorption,  let  it  be  so  stated." 

"  The  States  arc  united,  not  merged.'' 

"  The  amendment  merging  the  Minnesota  with  the  Kansas 
bill  was  withdrawn." 

"  I  am  not  prepared  to  be  merged  with  the  Old  School." 

"  The  banks  of  the  Cavalla  Eiver  gradually  rise  until 
they  merge  into  the  Gero  and  Pawh  mountains." 

"  The  carriage  road  merges  into  the  bridle  path." 

"  This  is  more  than  all  the  Popes,  who  ever  lived,  merged 
in  one,  would  dare  propose." 

"  Merging  its  members  in  the  newly  created  Christian 
community." 


PURIFICATION.  219 

"  Her  evening  sun  set,  merged^  at  length,  with  joy  in  the 
endless  life  of  heaven." 

"The  meeting  will  continue  until  12  o'clock,  and  will, 
then,  be  ijiergcd  into  the  prayer  meeting," 

"  I  may  transgress  the  limits  of  propriety,  and  merge  the 
pulpit  in  the  rostrum." 

"  An  ordinance  to  merge  the  department  of  the  market- 
houses  into  that  of  the  city  property." 

"  Christians  cannot  mer(/e  themselves  in  the  world,  and 
yet  live  above  the  world." 

"  In  the  year  1457,  the  distinctive  existence  of  the  Tab- 
orites  was  merged  iu  the  Society  of  the  Bohemian  Brother- 
hood." 

This  usage  is  grounded  in  the  controlling  influence 
represented  in  mergo.  The  special  form  which  that  influ- 
ence takes,  iu  the  present  case,  is  that  of  absorption  and 
assimilation.  There  is  not  mere  mersion,  but  unification. 
Merge,  in  its  ordinary  English  use,  cannot  translate  ^anri^a). 


PURIFICATION. 

Hsec  sanct^  iitposeas,  Tiberino  in  gurgite  niergis 
Mane  caput  bis  terque,  et  noctem  flumine  purgas.         Perseus. 
That  thou  mayest  ask  these  things  purely,  merse  thy  head 
In  the  river  Tiber,  twice  and  thrice,  in  the  morning,  and  thus 
piwge  the  night  by  the  stream. 

"Whether  it  be  thought  justifiable,  or  not,  to  say  that 
"  mergo,"  here,  does,  directly,  signify  to  purify,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  end  sought  is  purification.  When  Tiberinus 
was  "mersed"  in  the  Tiber  he  was  drowned;  and  "mergo," 
as  used  by  both  Livy  and  Ovid  to  describe  the  fact,  has 
this  direct  force — to  drown.  It  would  be  unavoidable,  but 
that  the  word,  commonly  used  to  describe  similar  occur- 
rences, would  secure  to  itself  the  power  to  express  directly 
what  originally  was  expressed,  onl}^,  indirectly.  In  like 
manner,  "  mergo,"  used,  daily,  to  express  the  development 


220  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

of  a  purifying  influence  by  mersion,  would,  imavoidably, 
come  to  represent  that  influence,  and  not  merely  the  in- 
tusposition  procurative  of  it. 

Thus,  in  the  natural  development  of  language,  "mersus 
homo"  might  represent "  a  purified  man ;"  because — 1.  He 
had  been  actually  mersed  in  his  whole  body,  and  thus  had 
received  a  fully  developed  purifying  influence.  2.  Because 
his  "  head"  had  been  actua'ly  mersed,  and  thuis  the  purify- 
ing influence  had  been  received  by  the  entire  body.  And, 
3.  Because  complete  purification  had  been  received  in 
some  other  way  than  by  mersion,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
whether  by  sacrifice,  by  fire,  or  by  sprinkled  water. 

To  say  that  a  man  thoroughly  purified  by  sprinkled  water 
may  not  be  called  "  mersus  homo,"  on  the  ground  that 
"  mersus"  means  immersed,  is  to  "kick  against  the  pricks," 
sharp  and  innumerable,  projecting  through  all  the  history 
of  language.  The  purifying  power  was  in  the  water  of 
the  Tiber,  and  that  power  was  not  limited,  in  its  develop- 
ment, to  a  state  of  mersion,  but  was  equally  secured  by 
sprinkling. 

Bis  caput  intonsum  fontana  spargitur  iinda 

Ter  caput  irrorat,  ter  tollit  ad  setbera  palmas.  Fast.  4, 

Twice  bi&  unshorn  bead  is  sprinkled  with  spring  water. 

Thrice  be  sprinkles  bis  bead,  thrice  he  lifts  bis  bands  to 
heaven. 

No  one  will  question  that  this  sprinkling  induced  con- 
dition of  purification ;  no  one  (I  will  venture  to  presume, 
until  advertised  of  the  contrary)  will  question  that  "mer- 
sus" mmj  denote  a  condition  of  purification  (or  any  other 
condition),  where  no  actual  mersion  has  taken  place; 
therefore,  it  is  beyond  all  denial  that  "mersus  homo"  may 
represent,  7iot  the  act  of  sprinkling,  but  a  man  who  has  been 
purified  by  sprinkling. 

I  do  not  say  that,  in  the  passage  before  us,  mergo  means 
to  purify,  although  Perseus  employs  j^w^ffo  to  express  its 


PURIFICATION.  221 

import  alone,  or  that  of  tlie  phrase  of  which  it  is  a  mem- 
ber, and  the  "  interpretation"  substitutes  lavo  for  it.  It  is 
sufficient  for  my  present  purpose  to  establish  an  unques- 
tionable possible  use.  Mergo  used  to  develop  a  thoroughly 
purifying  influence  for  its  object  by  intusposition  in  river 
water,  may,  most  legitimately,  be  used  to  express  such 
purification  in  whatsoever  way  effected. 

Ill  reference  to  a  resemblance  between  this  mersion  of 
the  head,  and  a  dipping,  I  would  remark:  1.  The  distinc- 
tion established  between  these  words  precludes  their  con- 
fusion here.  2.  Any  object  mersed,  and  resting,  most 
briefly,  in  that  condition,  for  the  sake  of  the  influence  of 
such  condition,  deprives  it  of  the  character  of  a  mere  dip- 
ping. 3.  With  the  facts  before  us,  it  is  madness  to  make 
mergo  mean  to  dip.  4.  Such  usage  of  mergo  brings  it  into 
fellowship,  not  with  the  primary  meaning  to  dip,  but  with 
the  secondary  meaning  to  dye.,  and  its  extension  to  the 
communication  of  quality  without  color.  This  mersion 
was  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  quality  of  purification. 
As  dipping  sometimes  took  place  for  the  sake  of  dyeing, 
and  then  ceased  to  mean  to  dip;  and  dyeing  Avas  eft'ected 
by  sprinkling,  or  in  any  way;  so,  mersion  for  purification 
ceases  to  mean  to  intuspose,  and  becomes  to  purify  in 
any  way.  5.  The  extent  and  mode  of  applying  an  element 
capable  of  producing  a  purification  is  purely  arbitrary,  and, 
in  fact,  endlessly  varied.  Whether  the  whole  body  be 
mersed,  or  the  head  or  hands  only;  whether  the  whole 
body  be  poured  upon  or  sprinkled;  or  whether  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  lips  only  be  touched ;  the  purified  one  be- 
comes equally  a  "  mersus  homo."  Mersus  in  such  case, 
of  course,  referring  not  to  the  manner  in  which  the  puri- 
fying element  has  been  used,  whether  by  mersion  or 
sprinkling,  but  to  the  condition  of  purity  induced.  The 
following  quotation  is  illustrative :  "  Let  him  first  sip 
water  thrice;  then  twice  wipe  his  mouth;  and  lastly  touch 
with  water  the  six  cavities  before  mentioned,  his  breast 
and  his  head.  lie  who  knows  the  law  and  seeks  purity, 
will  ever  perform  his  ablution  with  the  pure  part  of  his 


222  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

hand,  and  with  water  neither  hot  nor  frothy,  standing  in  a 
lonely  place,  and  turning  to  the  east  or  north. 

"  A  Brahmin  is  purified  by  water  that  reaches  his  bosom; 
a  Cschatriga  by  water  descending  to  his  throat;  a  Vaisya 
by  water  barely  taken  into  his  mouth;  a  Sudra  by  water 
touched  with  the  extremity  of  his  lips." — Institutes  of 
Manu,  Qr.  Ch.  Ilaiightoii,  London,  p.  29. 

Purifying  water  "  touching  the  lips"  constitutes  an  ab- 
lution, and  makes  a  "  mersus  homo." 


FIGURE. 

Nescit  quid  perdat,  et  alto 
Demersus,  summa  rnrsum  non  bullit  in  unda.      .     Perseus. 
Demersed  in  the  dQep,  he  never  again  emerges. 

Nimia  facilitate  in  voluptates  mergi.    .         .         .     Curtius. 
Mersed  into  pleasures  by  too  great  wealth. 

Mersor  fortunse  fluctibus Catullus. 

Mersed  by  the  billows  of  fortune. 
Mersor  civilibus  undis Sor.  Epist. 

Mersed  by  political  waves. 

These  passages  exhibit  figurative  use,  in  contradistinc- 
tion from  that  simply  tropical,  turned  or  secondary  use, 
by  which  words  of  original  physical  application  are  so  far 
modified  in  meaning  as  to  adapt  them  to  express  ideas 
growing  out  of  relations  not  physicah  Perseus,  clearly, 
has  a  picture  in  his  mind  which  he  presents  for  us  to  look 
at.  The  debased  man  of  whom  he  speaks  is  not  merely 
represented  as  "  demersed" — in  this  there  would  not  be, 
necessarily,  any  figure — but  he  adds,  "in  the  deep,"  which 
would  be  very  tame  of  itself;  but  when  he  adds,  "he 
never  bubbles  to  the  surface,"  the  picture  is  spirited  and 
complete. 

The  passage  from  Curtius  is  most  worthy  of  special 
attention.  Had  this  writer  simply  said,  "  nimia  facultate 
mergi,"  it  would  have  been  a  merely  i^rosaic  statement 
expressive  of  the  controlling  influence  of  excessive  wealth; 


FIGURE.  223 

"but  by  the  addition,  "in  voliiptates,"  he  converts  it  into 
figure,  and  shows  that  he  does  not  mean  merely  to  speak 
of  influence,  but  of  influence  exerted  in  a  certain  direc- 
tion, and  to  indicate  that  specific  form  he  introduces  a 
figurative  element,  namely,  "pleasures." 

It  is  very  rarely  that,  the  accusative,  representing  the 
element,  is  thus  introduced  either  in  the  Greek  or  in  the 
Latin.  The  reason,  I  suppose,  is,  because  in  the  secondary 
use  there  is  no  design  to  speak  in  figure;  and  because  the 
character  of  the  influence  can  bo  gathered,  usually,  with 
sufiicient  accuracy  from  the  subject-matter  of  discourse. 
Still,  it  is  manifest  that  the  greatest  possible  precision  is 
given  by  the  use  of  this  form  of  speech,  and,  sometimes, 
(as  in  referring  to  an  influence  wholly  new  or  imperfectly 
understood)  it  might  be  essentially  necessary  to  employ  it. 

Had  one  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  while  purifica- 
tion was  sought  by  mersing  the  head,  and  thrice  sprinkling 
its  waters,  and  proclaimed  the  insufiiciency  of  purification 
so  secured;  and  the  necessity  of  mersion  by  repentance; 
some  vague  idea,  and  only  a  vague  idea,  might  have  been 
received  as  to  the  eflcct  of  a  Repentance  Mersion  compared 
with  a  Tiber  Mersion ;  but  if  mersion  by  repentance  into 
the  remission  of  sins  is  proclaimed,  then  the  thought  is  stated 
with  absolute  dcfiniteness,  and  becomes  flooded  with  light. 
So,  "  mersion  by  wealth  "  is  an  indefinite  statement;  while 
''mersion  by  wealth  into  pleasures"  gives  form  and  feature 
to  the  thought.  The  former  phrase  is  sufficient  for  things 
with  whose  nature  and  influential  eftects  we  are  familiar; 
the  latter  is  necessary  in  speaking  of  things  unfamiliar  and 
for  rhetorical  efiiect. 

In  the  last  two  passages,  the  use  of  "fluctibus"  and 
'"Tindis"  determines  the  picture  character  of  the  thought 
in  the  minds  of  the  writers.  And  it  may  be  well  to  say, 
particularly,  that  these  words,  although  representing  a 
fluid  element,  do  not  represent  the  element  in  which,  but 
the  means  by  which  the  mersion  takes  place.  This  is  con- 
clusively shown  by  the  passage  of  Ovid,  which  expressly 
declares  that  it  was  "pondere  et  ictu"  of  the  wave  that 


224  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

the  vessel  was  mersed  "  in  ima."  So  iu  "  nimia  facultate 
in  voluptates,"  the  instrumental  means  is  represented  by 
its  appropriate  case.  And,  in  general,  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  the  ablative,  in  all  cases  of  inlluence-mersion, 
represents  the  agency  by  which,  and  not  the  element  iu 
which,  the  mersiou  takes  place. 


SECONDARY  USE. 
INFLUENCE    WITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION. 

Sed  me  fata  mo his  merscre  malis.  .         .     uEneid. 

The  fates  have  mersed  me  by  these  evils. 

Abstuht  atra  dies,  et  funerc  mcrsit  accrbo.   .         .     JEneid. 

Death  has  snatched  aioay,  and  mersed  with  a  bitter  end. 

Aut  qus6  forma  vires  fortunave  mersit.  .         .     JEneid. 

What  form  or  fortune  has  mersed  the  men  ? 

Et  mersis  fer  opem  mitissima  rebus.      .         .         .     Ovid. 
0  most  Benign !  bring  help  to  our  mersed  affairs. 

Ab  Jove  mersa  suo  Stygias  jDenitrarit  in  undas.     .     Ovid. 

Mersed  by  her  Jove  shall  go  down  to  the  Stygian  waters. 

AflFer  oj)em,  merstcque  precor  fci-itate  paterna.       .     Ovid. 
Help !  and  receive  me  mersed  by  paternal  cruelty. 

Herum  copia  mersat.      ......    Lucretius. 

Abundance  of  things  merses. 

Qui  peritissime  censum  domini  mergit.  .         .     Pliny. 

Who  most  cunningly  merses  the  estate  of  his  master. 

Mersus  foro Plautus. 

Mersed  by  debt. 

Mersus  rebus  secundis,  Alexander.         .         .         .     Livy. 
Alexander  mersed  by  prosperity. 

Mersus  vino,  somnoque. Livy. 

Mersed  by  wine  and  sleep. 

Potatio  quffi  mergit Seneca. 

The  drink  which  merses. 


INFLUENCE   WITHOUT   INTUSP03ITI0N.   '  225 

Yirum  gravera,  moderatum,  sed  mersum  vino,  et  madcntem. 

Seneca. 

A  man  grave,  moderate,  hut  mersed  and  icet  with  wine. 
Merger©  aliqucm  ad  Styga Seneca. 

Merse  aiiy  one  to  the  Styx. 

Et  Cosmi  toto  mergatur  aheno.  ....     Juvenal. 

Mersed  by  the  ichole  unguent  vase  of  Cosmus. 
Mergit  longa,  atque  insignis  honoriim  pagina.  .         .     Juvenal. 

A  long  and  eminent  record  of  honors  merses. 
Ut  mcdioeris  jacturte  tc  mcrgat  onus.        .         .         .     Juvenal. 

That  the  burden  of  a  moderate  loss  should  merse  thee. 
Sen  rorc  pudico 
Castaliffi  flavos  amor  est  tibi  mergcro  crines.     Statins,  Thebais. 

To  merse  thy  yellow  locks  in  the  pure  deio  of  Castalia. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  comment  on  each  of  these  passages. 
The  point  to  be  established  is,  that  mergo  (phicing  originally 
its  object  in  a  position  where  it  is  exposed  to  physical  in- 
fluence in  the  fullest  degree)  comes  to  represent  a  condi- 
tion which  is  the  result  of  some  controlling  iniluence  inde- 
pendent of  position. 

Two  or  three  clear  cases  will  sufficiently  illustrate  this 
point. 

"  0,  most  Benign !  bring  help  to  our  mersed  aflairs." 

This  is  the  prayer  of  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  after  the 
subsidence  of  the  general  deluge,  addressed  to  Themio : 
"  Declare,  0  Themis!  by  what  means  the  ruin  of  our  race 
may  be  repaired,  and  bring  help,  most  Benign !  to  our 
mersed  affairs." 

The  prayer  was  not  for  a  rescue  of  human  affairs  under 
deluge  waters ;  that  condition  had  been,  but  was  now 
passed  away.  Human  affairs  are  in  a  "ruined"  condition, 
which  is  expressed  by  "  mersed,"  and  from  this  condition 
deUverance  is  solicited. 

The  meaning  of  "  rebus  mersis"  in  this  passage  admits 
of  but  one  possible  interpretation  in  the  connection  in 
which  it  stands.  But  not  indicating  any  specific  form  of 
influence,  only  controlling  influence  of  some  kind,  there 

15 


226  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

would  oftentimes  be  a  necessity  for  the  introduction  of 
some  expomiding  words.  Thus,  "acre  paterno  ac  rebus 
mersis  in  vcntrem  fosnoris." — Jai-cnal,  xi,  40.  "Patrimony 
and  property  mersed  into  the  gulf  of  usury."  "  Rebus 
mersis,"  here  needed  some  explaining  word,  and  it  is  fur- 
nished by  "in  ventrem  foenoris." 

"  Mersed  by  debt"' — "  that  the  burden  of  a  moderate 
loss  should  merse  you."  Such  plirases  express,  directly,  a 
ruinous  influence.  To  reach  this  by  a  voyage  at  sea  and 
the  foundering  of  a  ship,  is,  at  the  best,  sailing  round  the 
world  to  arrive  at  a  point  one  pace  behind  you. 

"  JMcrscd  to  the  Styx,"  is  a  phrase  perfectly  explicit, 
although  the  word  is  used  absolutely,  because  the  men- 
tion of  "  the  Styx"  makes  but  one  interpretation  possible. 
Mergo,  hero,  expresses  a  condition  of  death  effected  by 
some  controlling  influence  not  mentioned,  and  which  may 
be  from  anything,  and  in  any  form  competent  to  cause 
death. 

This  is  shown  by  a  parallel  passage  quoted. 

"  Mersed  by  hor  Jove  shall  go  down  to  the  Stygian 
waters." 

Some,  not  particularly  conversant  with  the  facts  of  the 
case,  might  fancy  to  translate,  "  She  shall  go  down  into  the 
waters  of  Styx  and  be  immersed  by  her  friend  Jove." 
And  this  translation  might  be  very  manfully  defended  by 
triumphantly  asking:  1.  "Was  not  'the  Styx'  a  river, 
and  is  there  not  water  enough  in  a  river  for  immersion?  2. 
Does  not  '  pcnetro'  mean  to  jycnctratc,  to  go  into,  and  what 
would  any  one  go  into  a  river  for  except  to  be  immersed? 
3.  Docs  not  'in'  (above  all,  'in'  with  the  accusative  of  a 
fluid  element)  denote  movement,  and  what  can  '  in  undas ' 
mean  but  into  the  icaler?  4.  And  to  crown  all,  does  not 
mergo  mean  '  to  dip '  ?  Have  we  not,  then,  the  most  ex- 
press statement  of  immersion,  the  denial  of  which  shows, 
'  not  the  want  of  light,  but  of  Christian  honesty'?  5.  If 
assurance  could  go  farther,  is  it  not  found  in  the  declara- 
tion that  there  was  an  immerser  present  to  do  the  work? 


INFLUENCE  WITHOUT  INTUSPOSITION.         227 

What,  then,  is  lackuig  in  this  overwhelming,  concentrated 
evidence  — '  River'  — '  entering'  — '  into'  — '  immersed'  — 
'  immerser?'     Surely  nothing;  the  case  is  made  out." 

N'ow,  I  frankly  confess  that  if  I  knew  no  more  about 
the  actual  facts  of  this  case  than  I  do  about  the  absolute 
facts  of  some  other  cases  from  which  this  reasoning  is  a 
transcript,  I  could  say  nothing  more  to  disturb  the  com- 
placent convictions  expressed  respecting  the  *'  immersion'' 
of  Semele  into  the  Styx  by  her  special  friend,  than  I  could 
in  such  other  cases.  I  must  in  all  honesty  confess  to  the 
Styx  being  "a  riyer;"  to  ■pcndro  meaning  "to  enter;"  to 
ill  meaning  "into;"  to  mcrgo  meaning  "to  merse;"  and  to 
Jove  being  quite  competent  to  act  as  "immerser;"  but, 
after  all,  there  is  still  one  difficulty  in  the  way  of  Semclo's 
immei-sion  in  the  river  by  her  friend,  and  that  is  just 
this, — he  did  no  such  thing,  but  hilled  her  by  his  thunderbolts! 
And,  now,  with  this  historical  help  we  review  our  transla- 
tions, and  find  that  the  Styx  may  remain  a  river  still,  Avith- 
out  anybody  being  dipped  into  it;  that  "pcnetro"  may 
carry  down  very  far,  indeed,  without  carrying  into  the 
water;' that  "in"  may  mean  to  even  with  "  undas;"  that 
"  mergo"  may  express  a  condition  of  death  by  a  thunder- 
bolt, as  well  as  a  condition  of  death  by  drowning;  and 
both,  as  w^ell  as  a  simple  intusposition  without  any  deadly 
consequence  following;  and  that  Jove  may  be  an  "im- 
merser" without  dipping  into  water.  I  do  not  know  tliat 
this  case  Avill  cause  any  misgiving  as  to  the  reasoning  so 
earnestly  urged  by  Baptist  brethren  in  other  cases;  but 
if  it  should,  I  have  no  doubt  of  there  being  quite  enough 
of  "  Christian  honesty"  on  their  part  (whatever  may  be 
true  of  others)  to  make  all  due  acknowledgment.  Very 
8ure  am  I,  that  whenever  the  historical  facts  in  those  cases 
shall  be  fully  revealed,  that  they  will  show  that  the  actual 
baptism  conferred  in  those  rivers  was  no  more  like  that 
immersion  in  water  contended  for,  than  was  the  actual 
thunderbolt  immersion  of  Semele  like  to  her,  translation- 
proccd,  immersion  into  the  Styx  I  In  the  JEncid,  iv,  25,  is 
a  parallel  passage,  the  "thunderbolt"  expressed,  and  the 


228  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

mersion  implied — "  Vel  Pater  omnipotens  adigat  me  ful- 
mine  ad  umbras." 

"A  long  and  eminent  record  of  honors  merses." 

How  far  removed  from  a  water  mersion  is  a  statement 
like  this. 

"  Mergo"  does  not  necessarily  express  a  condition  re- 
sultant from  a  destractive  influence,  but  this  is  the  ordi- 
nary result  of  physical  mersion;  therefore,  when  applied, 
without  qualification,  to  cases  where  physics  are  not  in- 
volved, we  must  understand  that  a  destructive  influence 
is  designed. 

This  is  the  case  here.  Juvenal  declares  that,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  "honors  merse" — hrinj  ruin.  They 
do  so  by  awakening  envy,  jealousy,  and  hate  on  the  part 
of  others,  or  by  begetting  self-esteem,  pride,  and  ambition, 
on  the  part  of  the  possessor;  thus  a  condition  of  shame, 
sufi'ering,  and  ruin  is  induced,  well  described  as  a  mersion 
by  influence,  but  poorly  expomided  by  insisting  on  a  de- 
sign to  picture  an  intuspositioii  in  water. 

Potatio  quae  mergit.        ,        .        .        ,    Seneca. 

Tlie  drink  luhich  merses. 
Mersu8  vino  somnoqne.  ....     Livy. 

Merscd  by  wine  and  sleep. 

These  passages  are  closely  parallel,  and  afiard  a  good 
opportunity  to  speak  of  the  importance  of  discriminating, 
in  cases  of  mersion,  between  the  agency  efiectiug  the 
mersion  and  the  clement  in  which  the  mersion  actually, 
or  (in  figure)  supposedly,  takes  place ;  as,  also,  of  the  ad- 
vanced usage  which  first  obliterates  figure  and  shadow, 
establishing  a  general,  secondary  meaning,  and  then,  by 
frequent  use,  a  specific  meaning. 

The  passage  from  Seneca  presents  the  agency  in  the 
nominative,  and  so  precludes  all  question  as  to  its  charac- 
ter, I  ought  to  state  that  I  have  not  seen  this  passage  in 
its  connection,  and  cannot  vouch  for  its  literal  correctness; 


rtTELUENCE  TTITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION.  229 

but  whetber  {berc,  or  elsewbcre,  tbe  pbrase  serves  equally 
well  for  comment.* 

Tbe  "  potation,"  or  drink,  is  declared  to  be  causative 
of  tbe  nicrsion,  Now,  it  is  a  pbj^sical  impossibility  tbat 
anytbing  drunk  sbould  produce  a  pbysical  mersion  of  tbe 
drinker.  Sack  a  result  is,  tbcu,  out  of  tbe  question.  But 
mersion  by  figure  is  no  less  out  of  question,  so  far  as 
tbe  drink  is  sougbt  to  be  made  tbe  element  in  wbicb  tbe 
mersion  is  figuratively  to  take  place.  If  tbe  mersion,  by 
figure,  of  *'a  lake  into  tbe  blood  of  a  mouse,"  is  an  intoler- 
able perversion  of  taste,  bow  mucb  ])etter  is  tbat  wbich 
would  figure  a  man  mersed  into  tbe  fluid  wbicb  fills  bis 
moutli  or  stomacb?  If  some  otber  sort  of  figure  is  sougbt 
for,  as  *'  into  drunkenness,"  "  into  insensibilit3',"  I  admit 
tbat  sucb  figure  may  be  used  for  tbe  sake  of  dcfiniteness 
of  thougbt,  or  for  giving  special  force  to  tbe  expression; 
but  deny  tbe  necessity  for,  or  the  propriety  of,  any  sucb 
thing  ill  tbe  case  before  us,  1.  There  is  no  need  for 
"  dcfiniteness."  'No  one  who  reads  this  phrase  but  what 
understands,  at  once,  tbat  an  intoxicating  drink  is  intended. 
2.  There  is  no  need  for  force.  Tbe  phrase  is  one  of  con- 
centrated energy.  There  is  a  power  of  fact  in  the  utter- 
ance wbicb  tramples  figure  under  foot,  and  goes  straight 
forward  to  its  end.  It  declares  something  wbich  "  pota- 
tion" does  substantially,  not  figures  sbadowly.  And  what 
does  "  potation"  of  an  intoxicating  liquor  do  ?  Why,  it  makes 
drunk.  Then  tbat  is  what  Seneca  declares,  throwing  aside 
physical  intusposition,  and  figurative  intusposition,  and 
passing  beyond  general  controlling  influence,  be  gives  in- 
dividuality, body,  and  shape  to  that  influence  in  the  nerv- 

*  On  examination  I  find  the  following  passage:  "  Aliquando  vectatio 
iterque,  et  mutata  regie,  vigorem  dabunt,  convictusquo  ct  liberalior/ioi'to; 
nonnunquam  et  usque  ad  ebricUitem  veniendum,  non  ut  mcrgat  7ios  sed  ut 
depi'imat."  De  tranquiUtate  animi.  This  is  the  passage,  I  presume,  which 
is  intended  to  be  presented,  in  a  condensed  form,  in  "  Potatio  qucc  mcfgit." 
"Not  that  it  may  merse  us,  but  depress  cares."  Has  depress,  express, 
impress,  oppress,  suppress,  no  secondary  meaning?  Seneca  says:  "  Bac- 
chus is  called  Liber  because  he  liberates  the  mind  from  the  slavery  of 
cares. ' ' 


230  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 

ous  statement — "  The  Drink  which  makes  drunk"  "  Potatio" 
necessitates  sueli  coloring  to  the  tHought.  We  have,  then, 
a  mersion  by  a  fluid  without  being  in  that  fluid,  or  in  any 
other,  but  effected  by  drinking  a  pint  or  a  quart,  thus  ex- 
ercising over  the  drinker  a  controlHng,  intoxicating  power. 
Seneca  elsewhere  says:  "  Ubi  possedit  animum  niniia  vis 
vini,  quicquid  mali  latebat  emergit."  This  shows  that  wine 
mersion  is  not,  with  Seneca,  a  dipping  or  sinking,  but  a 
nimia  vis  vini — a  controlling  influence  of  wine. 

In  the  passage  from  Livy,  as  the  ablative  is  used  in 
expressing  the  agency,  occasion  has  been  taken  to  convert 
the  agency  of  the  mersion  into  the  element  of  mersion. 

Does  any  one  doubt  that  "wine  and  sleep"  w^ere  the 
agencies  in  this  mersion  ?  Does  any  one  doubt  the  essen- 
tial difference  between  the  agency  effecting  a  mersion, 
and  the  element  in  which  the  mersion  of  the  object  takes 
place?  If  these  things  are  beyond  controversy,  why,  then, 
confound  the  agency  and  the  element  by  contending  for  a 
" mersion  in  wine  and  sleep?"  How  is  such  mersion  con- 
ceivable ?  Are  "  wine  and  sleep"  to  be  conceived  of  as 
mingled  together,  and  so  constituting  a  joint  bath  ?  Or, 
is  there  to  be  a  mersion,  first  into  the  one,  and  then  into 
the  other?  These  questions  must  be  met.  Difficulties 
must  not  be  covered  up  by  vague  talk  of  figure. 

Interpret  according  to  the  facts,  making  "  wine  and 
sleep"  agencies,  and  all  runs  smoothly.  They,  by  their 
conjoint  influence,  exercise  a  controlling  influence  of  ac- 
cumulated power,  which  is  described  in  the  strongest 
language  by  terming  it  a  mcrsive  influence. 

Those  who  contend  for  figure  here,  and  to  effect  it  turn 
"  wine  and  sleep"  into  a  nondescript  element,  appeal  for 
support  to  jEneid  ii,  265:  '■'■  Invadunt  iirhem  sonvno  vinoque 
sepuUam."  The  appeal  brings  no  valuable  aid.  "  Sepelio" 
is  modified  in  its  usage  just  as  mergo  and  scores  of  other 
words  are.  "\Ve  say  of  an  unsuccessful  politician,  "  he  is 
dead  and  buried;"  do  we  mean  by  this  to  picture  a  grave- 
yard, pit,  cofiin,  and  shrouded  corpse,  with  incastcd  earth? 
Or,  do  we  mean  to  express  simply  that  his  hopes  and 


INFLUENCE  WITHOUT  INTUSPOSITION.        231 

efforts  for  advancement  are  utterly  futile  ?  Besides,  how 
can  a  city  be  "buried  in  both  sleep  and  wine?"  Is  not  one 
entombment  sufficient?  Virgil  utters  no  such  figurative 
absurdity.  He  expresses  no  figure  in  which  tombs,  inti- 
tuled "  wine,"  "  sleep,"  filled  with  the  corpses  of  a  city, 
are  pictured.  He  does  declare  that  the  conjoined  in- 
fluence of  sleej)  and  wine  induces  such  profound  stupor 
that  all  the  noise  of  an  invading  army  cannot  break  it. 

Virgil  speaks  of  another  burial,  JSneid^  vi,  424,  "  Occu- 
jpat  jEneas  aditum  custode  scpulio."  How  was  this  "burial" 
effected  ?  A  medicated  cake  is  thrown  to  the  dog  Cerberus, 
under  the  soporific  influence  of  which  he  comes  by  eating, 
and  is  "  buried;"  as  the  Trojans  came  under  the  intoxicat- 
ing influence  of  wine  by  drinldngy  and  were  "  buried."  But 
how  was  he  "buried"?  Why,  by  being  poured,  out  on  the 
ground  {"■fusus  humi"),  if  we  may  credit  those  interpreters 
who  insist  on  "one  meaning  through  an  entire  language." 
An  odd  sort  of  burial,  to  be  sure,;  yet,  this  was  all  the 
burial  that  the  three-headed  sentinel  received. 

Suppose,  now,  we  stood  by  the  side  of  JSneas,  and 
looked  down  upon  that  monster,  stretched  out  through 
the  whole  length  of  the  cave;  how  much  of  a  "burial" 
would  we  suppose  to  be  in  "  sepultus,"  or  even  in  "  sepul- 
tus  in  somno,"  as  applied  to  that  unentombed  object? 

Take  another  case :  JEncidy  iii,  GoO,  '-'■  Nam  simul  cxpldus 
dapibus,  vinoque  scp^dius.'^  "Burial  in  wine"  is  a  strange 
sort  of  a  figure.  Wine  is  "the  drink  which  merses" — 
buries;  not  the  clement  imohich  mersion  or  burial  takes 
place.  Picture-figure  here  fails.  Influence  is  the  only  and 
most  sufficient  source  of  explanation.  If  confirmation  were 
needed,  it  is  found  in  another  parallel  passage:  ^^ Ratall 
somno  vinoque  soluti"  ix,  236. 

Now,  suppose  we  press  on  this  language,  as  is  done  in 
the  other  cases,  and  insist  that  as  "solvo"  means  to  dis-  - 
solve,  so,  "sleep  and  Avine"  are  figured  as  liquids  m  lohich 
the  Eutuli  are  placed  to  be  "dissolved"!  There  is  as 
much  good  sense  in  this  as  making  "  sleep  and  wine,"  in 
the  other  cases,  sepulchres.    But  few  will  urge  such  picture- 


232  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

figure;  but  if  they  cannot  in  tlie  one  case,  tbey  may  not 
in  tbe  otJicr.  In  all  such  cases,  mcrgo,  sepdio,  solvo,  are 
used  to  exhibit  the  development  of  strong  influence;  each 
one  with  its  peculiar  shade  of  thought.  "  Sleep  and  wine," 
both,  induce  great  relaxation  of  the  muscular  system,  and 
therein  is  the  ground  of  the  use  of  "  solvo ;"  and  a  relaxed 
body  "  stretched  at  great  length  on  the  ground,"  is  like 
water  "  poured  along;'"  therefore,  the  application  of"  fusus" 
to  Cerberus.  "  Wine  and  sleep"  are  influential  agencies  iu 
relaxing  the  limbs  of  the  Rutuli,  and  not  a  mixture  in 
which  they  are  "  dissolved." 

I  only  add,  that  the  translation  "  in  wine  and  sleep," 
docs  not  secure  a  figurative  mcrsion  or  burial.  Picturing 
is  still  excluded,  and  influence  remains  sovereign.  "We 
say  a  man  drunk  is  "in  liquor;"  do  we  mean  to  utter 
figure,  or  to  express  influence? 

Pope  describes  one  of  his  Dunciad  heroes  thus: 

"  Where  Bentley  late  tempestuous  wont  to  sport 
In  troubled  waters,  but  now  sleeps  in  Port." 

Ilis  annotator  remarks:  "A  certain  wine  called  Port, 
from  Oporto,  a  city  of  Portugal,  of  which  this  Professor 
invited  him  to  drink  abundantly." 

JSTow,  shall  we  be  told  that  the  poet  does,  here,  "by  an 
elegant  figure,"  put  Mr.  Bentley  to  sleep  ^^in"  a  cask  of 
Port  wine?  Docs — "  wi  troubled  waters" — merse  or  bury 
m  water?  What  shall  be  said  of  criticism  which  tears 
words  out  of  organic  phrases,  and  hy  them  conjures  up 
such  "  elegant  figures"?  Stones,  in  a  heap,  may  be  han- 
dled and  treated  disjunctly;  but  when  builded  into,  an 
arch,  they  can  only  be  treated  in  their  relations  to  each 
other,  unless  our  purpose  be  destruction.  "Words,  in  com- 
bination, have  a  common  life,  which  perishes  when  they 
are  torn  asunder. 

While  Livy  and  Virgil  speak  of  the  controlling  influence, 
conjointly  exercised,  of  wine  and  sleep,  Seneca  speaks  of 
the  specific  power  of  wine  to  intoxicate. 


CONCLUSIONS  FROM  USAGE.  233 

CONCLUSIONS  FROM  USAGE. 

1.  Mergo  represents  no  definite  form  of  action ;  is,  alike, 
indifferent  to  the  movement  of  tlie  object  or  the  clement; 
is  equally  competent  to  take  a  world  or  a  gi*ain  of  sand  for 
its  object;  makes  no  limit  of  time;  puts  no  bounds  to 
force ;  establishes  no  modes  of  action ;  claims  intusposition 
for  its  object,  and  securing  that  has  performed  its  duty, 
and  ceases  its  functions  in  primary  relations. 

2.  Sccondarilr/ :  Mergo  represents  a  condition  which  is 
the  result  of  some  controlling  influence;  the  nature  of  the 
condition  being  limited  and  determined,  only,  by  the 
nature  of  the  influence,  extending  through  the  wide  range 
of  purification  by  sprinkled  water-drops,  to  death  by  flam- 
ing thunderbolts. 

3.  Absolutely:  Mergo  represents  influence  destructive  in 
character. 

4.  Appropriation :  Mergo  means  to  droion,  to  make  drunk. 
Facts,  in  this  direction,  were  of  constant  occurrence,  and 
daily  use  would  stamp  specific  meaning.  Fitness  to  ex- 
press the  meaning  to  imrify  is  equally  good;  but  evidence 
for  such  usage,  in  fact,  is  not  so  strong. 

5.  With  peculiarities  of  usage,  such  as  must  occur,  the 
general  features  of  usage  in  mergo  and  immerse  are  in 
the  most  perfect  harmony,  rather  are  identical. 

6.  The  characteristics  of  mergo  are  in  strongest  contrast 
with  those  of /3<z7rr<t>,  tingo,  and  dip.  If  a  defiled  man  seeking 
purification  is  commanded  to  merse  his  head  for  this  purpose 
in  purifying  water,  and,  its  influence  having  been  secured, 
takes  it  out  again,  mergo  makes  no  complaint  because  he 
did  not  keep  it  there  until  another  influence  of  the  water, 
drowning,  was  securecL  If  any  one  should  be  pleased  to 
say,  because  of  this  mode  of  securing  the  controlling  in- 
fluence of  purifying  water,  that  mergo  and  dip  mean  the 
same  thing,  he  must  hold  controversy,  not  with  me,  but 
with  common  sense,  with  the  old  Romans,  and  with  the 
masters  iu  English. 


234  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


BAUTIZQ. 

WHAT   DOES    IT    MEAN  ? 

"We  pursue  our  inquiry,  g-uided  by,  and  submissive  to, 

the  Horatian  law, 

"  Usus 
Quern  pen6s  arbitrium  est,  et  jus,  et  norma  loquendi." 

In  dolno:  this,  I  stand  before  tbe  same  tribunal  witb  Dr. 
Carson,  who  says :  "  I  have  appealed  to  a  higher  tribunal 
than  the  authority  of  all  critics — to  use  itself.'' 

"  Truth  is  on  every  man's  side."  Then,  this  utterance, 
faithfully  interpreted,  will  not  be  adverse  to  any  of  us, 
whatever  it  may  be. 

May  we  seek,  with  all  docility,  the  guidance  of  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  that  we  may  be  "  led  by  Him  into  all 
truth"  necessary  for  our  good,  and  promotive  of  the  glory 
of  His  ISTame ! 

"Whatever  of  time  or  labor  may  have  been  demanded  to 
pass  over  the  preceding  discussion,  few,  I  hope,  will  con- 
sider the  one  or  the  other  wastefully  expended  in  view 
of  the  vantage-ground  which  has  been  thus,  and  could 
only  thus  have  been,  secured  for  a  discriminating  and 
authoritative  determination  of  this  long-debated  word. 

The  words  examined  clearly  belong  to  two  distinct 
classes.  Each  class  has  its  own  deeply  marked  and  broadly 
distinguishing  characteristics.  And  may  we  not  affirm,  as 
a  point  beyond  controversy,  that  no  word  can  belong  to  both 
these  classes  ? 

If,  now,  the  word  which  we  are  about  to  examine  be- 
longs to  either  class,  its  usage  cannot  be  ambiguous,  nor 
leave  a  shadow  of  doubt  as  to  the  class  to  which  it  must 
be  attached.  Its  classification  having  been  determined,  its 
development,  under  the  exigencies  of  language,  must  be 
assumed  to  be  in  harmony  with  its  original  nature. 


PRIMARY   USE.  235 

USAGE  OF  BAHTIZa. 

INTUSPOSITION    WITHOUT   INFLUENCE. 

PRIMARY  USE. 

1.  "Ooq  ozav  jxh  a/jL7:u)-cg  ^  ;j.rj  (ia-zi'^eaOai. 

Aristotle,  Wonderful  Reports. 

2.  "'A^dnrtiTTm  t£  xaO"  uSwp  <peXXdv.    ArcMas,  Epigr.  X. 

3.  'Ei3d~Tt<T  ei'c  Tov  ohov.  Julian,  Egypt.    Cupid,  p.  223. 

4.  Oov  idovTS':  ob  lSa7zrt!^ofj.ivoo<;.         Lucian,  True  Ilistorij,  ii,  4. 

5.  'E<;''^xeavolo  poov  (^aTZTc'iero  Tlt-^v.  Orphei,  Argonautica,  512. 

6.  "E/j-jSaTrrcffrxi'^a^  rale  riX/mffiv.  Plutarch,  Sijlla,  xxi. 

7.  'i4<7zo?  ^aTZTi^Tj.  Plutarch,  Theseus,  xxiv. 

8.  "Etuq  ru)v  iiaazuiM  ol-!ztZ,o\  (iaizri'l.oiie'.ioi.   PoUjbius,  iii,  72,  4. 

9.  Daizzi'^oiJ.ivou  rou  dpotvoo  (japsc.      Polybius,  xxxiv,  3,  7. 

10.  Da-KTiZerat.  pixP^  ■/.t(pal7,:;.  Porphyry,  Abstinence,  p.  282. 

11.  "P.ffTs  poXiq  ^arcTiUffOac.  Strabo,  xii,  2,  4. 

12.  i%/)c  dp<paXou  l^a-rL^upivcav.  Strabo,  xiv,  3,  9. 

MERSION   WITHOUT   INFLUENCE. 
PRIMARY   USE. 

1.  "Which  when  it  is  ebb  tide  are  not  meracd — (sea-coast). 

2.  And  cork  immersed  by  water — (fishing-net). 

3.  I  mersed  him  into  the  wine — (Cupid). 

4.  Seeing  them  not  mersed — (men  with  cork  feet). 

5.  The  sun  mersed  himself  into  the  ocean  flood. 

6.  Mersed  in  the  marshes — (armor). 

7.  A  bladder,  thou  mayest  be  mersed;  but  there  is  no  decree 

for  thee  to  sink. 

8.  The  infantry  being  mersed  up  to  the  breasts. 

9.  The  oak  (fishing-spear)  being  mersed  by  the  weight. 

10.  He  is  mersed  to  the  head. 

11.  So  that  it  is  hardly  mersed — (dart). 

12.  Beinar  mei'sed  to  the  waist. 


236  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


GENERAL    REMARKS, 

1.  Such  cases  of  usage  present  a  favorable  opportunity 
for  determining  the  meaning,  inasmuch  as  there  are  no 
comphcations  arising  from  influence  exerted  by  the  mer- 
sion  over  the  object.  I  have  given  all  the  cases  of  this 
class  with  which  I  have  met. 

2.  There  is  no  semblance,  in  any  one  of  these  cases,  of 
the  meaning  to  dip.  Cupid  is  put  into  the  wine  without 
being  taken  out.     He  is  swallowed  by  the  drinker. 

8.  There  is  as  little  semblance  of  any  other  modal  act 
being  the  exponent  of  the  Greek  word,  since  a  variety  of 
modal  acts,  entirely  distinct  in  character — flowing,  sink- 
ing, in-putting,  falling,  throwing,  walking — do  equally 
well,  and  with  equal  authority  perform  the  baptism. 

4.  No  exposition  can  meet  the  facts  of  the  case  which 
does  not  remove  (ia-ri'^u)  from  the  class  of  verbs  expressive 
of  modality  in  action  (whether  general  or  particular),  and 
place  it  among  those  which,  immediately,  demand  condi- 
tion, leaving  the  form  and  character  of  the  act  securing 
that  condition  unexpressed  and  uncared  for. 

6.  BanriXu)  has  no  alliance  with  (Sd-Tco,  tingo,  and  dip.  It  is 
in  most  intimate  accord  with  mergo  and  merse. 

PARTICULAR   CASES. 

"1."  "  They  say  that  the  Phoenicians  inhabiting  the  re- 
gion called  Gadira,  sailing  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
with  an  easterly  wind,  four  days,  reach  to  certain  desert 
places  full  of  rush  and  seaw^eed;  which  when  it  is  ebb  tide 
are  not  mersed;  but  when  it  is  full  tide  are  flooded." 

Aristotle. 

The  tidal  movement  of  the  Atlantic  may  have  furnished 
a  theme  for  "  Wonderful  Report"  to  the  Greeks  of  Aris- 


SEA-COAST   BAPTISM.  237 

totle's  day,  but  it  has  long  since  ceased  to  be  classed 
among  "  wonders." 

The  baptism  which  took  place  under  the  operation  of 
the  tidal  wave,  we  understand,  in  all  its  features,  as  well 
as  if  we  had  formed  a  portion  of  the  Phcenician  party. 
The  modus  of  the  baptism,  as  to  the  act  done,  is  settled 
beyond  controversy.  This  is  of  the  first  importance. 
Whenever  the  mode  of  baptism  is  not  expressly  stated, 
our  Baptist  friends  place  their  back  against  the  word,  and 
make  battle,  a  Vouircmce,  for  "one  meaning  through  all 
Greek  literature,"  and  that  meaning — "dip,  and  nothing 
but  dip."  And  even  here,  where  it  is  admitted  that  the 
modal  act,  as  declared,  is  the  very  antipodal  of  dip^  the 
great  controversialist  strenuously  affirms  that  it  is  onh', 
after  all,  a  more  beautiful  way  of  sa^-ing  dip  !  But  while 
Carson  is  bold  enough  to  vindicate  the  Baptist  dogma 
by  the  audacious  transmutation  of  water  flowing  over  an 
object,  into  the  dipping  of  an  object  into  water,  others, 
who  love  the  Baptist  system  as  dearly  as  himself,  are  un- 
willing to  follow  where  they  see  common  sense  so  hope- 
lessly wrecked.  Still,  even  these  decline  to  acknowledge 
that  they  have  misunderstood  the  force  of  the  word,  and 
evade  the  force  of  the  staggering  blow,  received  by  their 
Sj'Stem,  by  slipping  in  a  word  to  which  is  assigned,  in 
exigencies,  a  double  role ;  and  pass  on  from  the  sea-coast 
to  other  scenes  of  baptism,  where  "dip"  can  once  more, 
with  some  greater  show  of  plausibility,  be  brought  to  the 
foreground. 

It  will  be  instructive  to  look  with  some  particularit}^  at 
the  manner  in  which  leading  Baptist  wi'iters  treat  this 
baptism,  all  of  whose  elements  are  thoroughly  understood, 
and  without  question  from  any  quarter,  seeing  that  it  does, 
on  its  face,  crush  the  Baptist  doctrine  as  to  the  meaning 

of  ^a-Ti'^u). 

(1.)  The  following  shows  the  deep  impression,  half  ac- 
cepted, half  rejected,  made  by  the  case  on  Dr.  Gale :  "  Ba-ri. 
ZeaOai  being  used,  here,  to  sighify  the  land  was  under  water, 
by  the  water's  coming  in  upon  it,  and  not  by  its  being  put 


238  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

into  the  water,  some,  perhaps,  may  think  it  a  considera- 
ble objection;  but  it  will  be  found  of  no  advantage  to  our 
adversaries,  if  it  be  observed,  that  it  here  necessarily  and 
unavoidably  imports  to  be  under  water,  or  to  be  over- 
whelmed or  covered  with  water;  and  this  being  the  plain 
sense  of  this  place,  'tis  natural  enough  to  say,  as  it  were, 
or  in  a  manner,  or  some  such  expression  is  to  be  under- 
stood. Besides,  the  word  /Sa-rjtw,  perhaps,  does  not  so 
necessarily  express  the  action  of  putting  under  water,  as, 
in  general,  a  thing's  being  in  that  condition,  no  matter 
how  it  comes  so,  whether  it  is  put  into  the  water,  or  the 
water  comes  over  it;  tho'  indeed  to  put  into  water  is  the 
most  natural  way  and  the  most  common,  and  is,  therefore, 
usually  and  pretty  constant!}',  but  it  niixy  be  not  necessarily 
required." — pp.  116,  117. 

If  this  tidal  wave  did  not  carry  the  learned  Gale  high 
up  on  the  shores  of  truth,  it  certainly  did  bring  him  very 
near  to  its  ^'  coasts,"  and  he  has,  thence,  brought  back  a 
very  "  Wonderful  Report"  to  his  Baptist  brethren.  He 
tells  them,  that  the  "  sea-coasts,  w^est  of  the  Pillars  of  Her- 
cules, have  quite  unsettled  his  notion  as  to  the  meaning 
of  ySaTTTiTw.  It  sometimes,  certainly,  means  one  thing,  and, 
perhaps,  prettj^  constantly,  means  something  quite  the 
contrary,  but  what  it  does  really  mean  he  will  not  under- 
take to  say." 

In  this  "  report"  there  is  much  of  honesty,  and  no  little 
of  imivete. 

(2.)  Dr.  Carson  has  visited  this  same  spot  to  inquire  into 
this  famous  classical  baptism  ;  let  us  hear  what  he  has  to 
say  in  relation  to  it. 

"  Now,  though  the  water  comes  over  the  land,  and  there 
is  no  actual  exemplification  of  the  mode  expressed  by  this 
w'ord,  yet  it  still  expresses  that  mode ;  and  the  word  has 
been  employed  for  the  very  purpose  of  expressing  it.  The 
peculiar  beauty  of  the  expression  consists  in  figuring  the 
object,  which  is  successively  bare  and  buried  under  water, 
as  being  dipped  when  it  is  covered,  and  as  emerging  when 
it  is  bare." 


SEA-COAST    BAPTISM.  239 

* 

This  is  a  very  imperial,  not  to  say  a  very  empirical,  mode 
of  disposing  of  Aristotle's  contradiction  of  the  Baptist  ex- 
position of  a  Greek  word.  Dr.  Gale  modestly  confesses 
that  Aristotle's  use  of  the  word,  so  different  from  his  own 
understanding  of  it,  clouds  the  meaning.  Dr.  Carson  saj's, 
it  illuminates  the  meaning  with  all  the  efi'ulgence  of  poetry 
and  rhetoric.  Dr.  Gale  once  ventured  to  sport  with  figure 
and  rhetoric,  on  a  large  scale,  and  "  dipped  a  lake  into 
the  blood  of  a  frog."  For  this  he  was  roundly  chidden  by 
Carson,  who  declared  that  "  there  never  was  such  a  figure," 
and  pronounced  it  to  be  "  a  paradox  in  rhetoric."  It  is 
now  Gale's  turn  to  rehearse  in  his  teacher's  ear  the  lesson 
which  he  received,  and  to  inquire,  "  on  what  page  of  Rhet- 
oric, or  of  the  beauties  of  Poetry,  Ave  are  to  look  for  an 
indorsement  of  'the  peculiar  beauty  in  figuring'  the  sea- 
coast  as  picked  up  and  dipped  into  the  rising  tide?" 
Without  waiting  for  an  answer  to  this  inquirj^  I  would 
remark,  that  "  the  peculiar  beauty"  of  this  figure  is  sadly 
marred  by  its  being  "lame  of  a  leg."  "Dip"  requires 
both  that  its  object  should  be  put  into  and  taken  out  of 
the  water,  or,  to  use  the  Doctor's  language,  be  "buried 
and  bare;"  but  unfortunately  this  was  not  Aristotle's  no- 
tion of  the  meaning  of  /?«7rr£'^w,  as  he  has  emploj-ed  it  to 
express  one  of  these  conditions  only,  and  used  another 
word  to  express  the  other.  Dr.  Carson,  therefore,  in  con- 
verting this  very  prosaic  narrative  into  poetry,  and  making 
/SarriTw  officiate  as  a  dipper,  can  furnish  him  with  but  one 
leg  to  stand  upon. 

The  transformation  of  "flowing  over"  into  dipping  into, 
is  farther  vindicated,  thus:  "  Common  conversation  exem- 
plifies this  mode  of  expression  every  day;  and  mere  chil- 
dren understand  its  import.  When  a  person  has  been 
drenched  with  rain,  he  will  say  that  he  has  got  a  dipping. 
Here  dipping  does  not  lose  its  modal  import,  but  immedi- 
ately suggests  it  to  the  mind,  and  intends  to  suggest  it. 
But  were  the  English  language  one  of  the  dead  languages, 
and  this  expression  subjected  to  learned  criticism,  it  would 


240  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

"be  alleged  that  the  word  dip-pmg  does  not  denote  mode, 
but  wetting  without  reference  to  mode." 

Dr.  Carson  is  not  more  happy  in  expounding  the  second- 
ary use  of  dip  (supposing  it  to  have  such  use  as  he  indi- 
cates), than  in  pointing  out  the  rhetorical  beauty  o^  dipping 
the  sea-coast  by  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide. 

The  word  "dipping"  I  have  never  heard  used  in  the 
connection  stated;  but  duckirifj  (an  equivalent  word),  I 
have.  "  lie  was  caught  in  the  rain  and  got  a  ducking," 
is  a  phrase  in  familiar  use.  But  it  is  amusing  to  hear 
Dr.  Carson  say  that  the  children  (whether  of  smaller  or 
larger  growth)  who  use  such  language  "  design"  to  give 
utterance  to  liighly  wrouglit  i-hetorical  figure,  "  the  pecu- 
liar beauty  of  which  consists  in  figuring  the  object  as  suc- 
cessively bare  and  buried  under  water."  Is  it  not  marvel- 
lous that  any  one  should  think  of  afiirming  that  a  child 
who  speaks  of  "  having  got  a  dackiiir/  in  a  shower,"  means 
to  flash  before  his  playmates'  imagination  a  picture  in 
which  he  is  seen  to  go  under  and  come  out  of  the  water 
of  a  mill-pond,  or  the  like  !  There  is,  now,  before  my  eye 
an  account  of  some  boys  who  held  one  of  their  companions 
under  the  pump,  while  others  "ducked"  hira  hj  jmmpiiig 
water  upon  him.  Is  this,  too,  an  elegantly  rhetorical  use  of 
language  representing  the  object  as  successively  "  bare  and 
buried"?  In  the  sea-coast  baptism  there  is  a  "bare  and 
buried;"  but  where  is  it  found  in  the  sliower  dipping,  ov 
the  pump  ducking?  And  in  the  coast  baptism  there  is  no 
basis  for  such  figure,  because  the  twain  are  not  one;  but 
each  is  designated  by  an  independent  word. 

Before  "  the  English  language  is  numbered  with  the 
dead"  and  2:iven  over  to  "learned  criticism,"  I  wish  to 
say,  that  both  "dipping"  and  "  ducking,"  as  thus  popu- 
larly used,  do  mean,  and  can  mean,  nothing  else,  than 
simply  wetting  without  reference  to  mode.  When  Walter 
Scott  says,  "  the  boat  received  the  sltowe.r  of  brine  Avhich 
the  animal  spouted  aloft,  and  Triptolemus  had  a  full  share 
of  the  immersion,"  the  use  of  "  shower,"  and  "  full  share," 
precludes  the  idea  of  "  design"  to  express  "  one  mode  of 


SEA-COAST   BAPTISM.  241 

action  by  another  mode  of  action"  in  employing  "im- 
mersion." There  is  no  "mode  of  action"  in  immerse, 
and  the  word  is  used  to  emphasize  "  the  full  share  of" 
wetting. 

But  Carson  is  unwilling  that  anyone  should  believe  that 
Aristotle  writes  Greek  after  a  fashion  which  overturns  the 
Baptist  system;  he,  therefore,  presses  the  point  thus  :  "  In 
the  same  style  we  might  say,  that,  at  the  flood,  God  im- 
mersed the  mountains  in  the  waters,  though  the  waters 
came  over  them."  "  Might  say  this"  ?  Why  not  say  it? 
Is  it  not  as  proper  to  say  that  an  object  is  "immersed" 
when  "  water  comes  over  it,"  as  when  it  is  "  put  into  the 
water"?  "VYhat  has  "  the  immersion  "  to  do  with  the  one 
mode  or  the  other  mode  ?  Ilere  is  laid  bare  the  vicious 
element  which  runs  through  Baptist  writings,  to  wit,  the 
making  "immerse"  a  verb  of  modal  action;  confounding 
it  with  dip;  as,  also,  (iar.Ti'^u)  is  confounded  with  /Sa-rw. 
And  worse  than  this  is  the  use,  as  exigency  requires,  of 
immerse,  also,  as  an  immodal  word,  with  no  intimation  of 
the  double,  groundless,  and  contradictory  sense.  God  did 
"immerse  the  mountains  in  the  waters  of  thcflood;"  but 
no  one  since  the  flood,  except  the  very  eminent  contro- 
versiahst  of  Tubbermore,  ever  thought  of  saying  that  in 
this  statement  "immersed"  is  used  with  the  design  of 
expressing,  with  great  beauty  of  rhetoric,  the  lifting  up 
of  the  mountains  and  dipping  them  into  the  flood ! 

It  is  still  farther  urged :  "  The  thing  here  supposed  to 
be  baptized  was  wholly  buried  under  water.  Can  any 
child,  then,  be  at  a  loss  to  learn  from  this  that  baptism 
means  to  lay  under  water?  Who,  then,  can  be  at  a  loss  to 
know  the  meaning  of  the  word  baptism  ?" 

Then,  after  all,  there  was  no  baptism  of  the  sea-coast. 
It  was  only  a  "  supposed"  baptism  !  Observe  how  uncom- 
promisingly Carson  holds  on  to  the  idea  that  a  baptism  is 
a  dipping,  and  nothing  else  is.  He  stands  by  the  dogma 
of  Baptists  in  opposition  to  Aristotle ;  because  he  knows 
that  to  abandon  it  is  to  abandon  the  citadel  of  his  denomi- 
nation, and  to  lower  the  controversial  banner  under  whicli 

16 


242  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

they  have  so  long  and  so  manfully  done  battle.  Carson, 
"  the  man  whose  like  will  not  arise  for  a  thousand  years," 
felt  that  this  was  the  point  which  Baptists  had  undertaken 
to  defend  against  the  world;  he  believed  it  to  be  true  with 
all  his  heart,  and  because  he  believed  it  he  cast  in  his  lot 
with  them;  and  he  felt  that  he  could  not  give  it  up  eveu 
with  Aristotle  against  him,  for  with  it  went,  as  he  believed, 
everything.  Now,  when  we  see  other  Baptist  writers  com- 
pelled to  give  up,  what  Carson  felt  was  giving  up  all,  wdiat 
shall  we  think?  Must  they  not  change  their  judgment 
of  their  great  Leader,  or  surrender  ? 

(3.)  Dr.  Fuller  treats  this  passage  thus  :  "A  fourth  case 
cited  by  Pcedobaptist  authors  is  from  Aristotle.  It  is 
produced  to  show  that  Baptizo  does  not  always  mean  the 
act  of  plunging.  My  position  is  that  Baptizo  means  to 
immerse.  It  matters  not  how  the  immersion  is  efiected. 
And  the  passage  is  conclusive  against  those  who  ad- 
duce it." 

This  passage  presents  a  very  neat  specimen  of  contro- 
versial tactics.  It  is  confessed  that  the  passage  is  cited 
against  plunge,  dip,  et  id  omne  gemis,  as  the  legitimate  repre- 
sentatives of  ^anzi^oj.  Docs  Dr.  Fuller  deny  that  it  crush- 
ingly  proves  the  point  for  which  it  is  cited  ?  He  is  dumb 
with  silence.  He  has  not  a  syllable  to  utter  in  defence  of 
those  cherished  terms.  How,  then,  does  it  happen  that 
the  passage  is  conclusive  "  against  those  who  adduce  it?" 
But  why  was  the  passage  cited?  Because  Baptists  for  a 
century  had  proclaimed  that  "  the  word  meant,  always, 
to  dip,  to  plunge."  Does  Dr.  Fuller  deny  this?  And  wh}'- 
does  he  say,  "  My  position  is  that  Baptizo  means  to  im- 
merse" ?  Why,  because  he  is  unwilling  to  go  down  in  the 
Baptist  boat  sinking  with  its  load  of  modalism,  and  he  leaps 
overboard  and  swims  to  the  shore,  to  lift  np,  not  the  old 
Baptist  standard,  but  Dr.  Fuller's — to  wit,  "  31g  position 
is  that  Baptizo  means  immerse.  It  matters  not  how  the 
immersion  is  effected." 

If  the  passage  cited  has  wrought  with  such  tremendons 
effect, how  is  it  "conclusive  against  those  who  adduce  it"? 


SEA-COAST  BAPTISM.  243 

Docs  Dr.  Fuller  say:  "But  you  believe  in  baptism  by 
sprinkling,  and  this  is  not  such  baptism."  I  answer: 
When  we  adduce  this  passage  to  prove  baptism  by  sprink- 
ling, it  will  be  time  enough  to  say,  it  makes  against  us; 
until  then  it  will  be  sufficient  for  the  Doctor  to  note  the 
sweeping  execution  which  it  makes  in  the  direction  for 
which  it  was  cited. 

In  the  new  legend  under  which  Dr.  Fuller  rallies,  soli- 
tary and  alone,  we  must  not  fail  sharply  to  notice  the 
absolute  antagonism  between  the  use  of  "  immerse,"  and 
the  same  word  as  used  by  Carson.  The  latter  uses  "  im- 
merse" as  the  equivalent  of  dip;  the  former  repudiates  all 
such  affinity,  and  declares  that  there  is  no  necessary  con- 
nection between  them,  and  ''  it  matters  not  how  the  im- 
mersion is  effected."  It  is  because  of  facts  like  these,  in 
different  writers,  and  in  the  same  writer,  that  I  complain 
of  the  "duplicity"  which  characterizes  the  use  of  this 
word.  Carson  builds  his  system  on  the  use  of  dip  and 
immerse  as  interchangeable  equivalents.  Fuller  makes 
the  corner-stone  of  "my  position"  the  repudiation  of 
this  doctrine,  and  builds  on  "immerse"  divorced  from 
modalism. 

The  argument  of  Carson  is  pronounced  by  his  friend  to 
be  a  failure.  What  fate  awaits  that  which  is  proposed  as 
a  substitute  remains  to  be  seen.  The  Doctor  has  a  very 
cheering  confidence  in  his  success :  "  I  have  established, 
beyond  all  controversy,  what  is  the  only  meaning  of  Bap- 
tizo"  (p.  20).  Having  secured  such  a  prize,  one  would 
suppose  that  he  would  hold  it  fast.  But  it  seems  not  to 
be  prized  over  highl}'.  Yv^itness  the  following:  "You 
may  be  immersed  in  any  manner  you  choose;  but  sprink- 
ling and  pouring  are  not  modes  of  immersion"  (p.  15). 
This  is  true  only:  1.  By  abandoning  "my  position" — 
"immersion  may  be  effected  in  any  manner."  Or,  2.  By 
falling  back  on  the  duplex  use  of  immersion,  and  giving  it 
a  modal  character.  For  it  is  beyond  denial  that  the  con- 
dition of  "  immersion"  may  be  effected  by  both  sprinkling 
and  pouring.     Indeed  he  himself  says :  "  Suppose  a  man 


244  CLASSIC  BAPTISxM, 

should  lie  in  the  baptistery  while  it  is  filling.  The  pour- 
ing of  the  water  would  not  be  immersion ^  yet  an  immer- 
sion would  tako  place  if  he  remained  long  enough."  "  If 
the  liquid  is  poured  in  such  abundance  that  a  baptism 
(immersion)  follows,  they  cry  out,  There,  how  plain  it  is 
that  to  pour  and  to  baptize  is  the  same  thing."  Not  too 
fast.  One  thing  at  a  time.  1.  We  have  here  the  confes- 
sion that  immersion  may  be  effected  by  pouring,  over 
against  the  denial  that  sprinkling  and  pouring  are  modes 
of  immersion,  2.  As  to  "the  cry"  made  in  view  of  this 
fact,  we  j)refer  making  i'.  ourselves,  and  in  doing  so  declare, 
not  that  "  to  pour  and  to  baptize  are  the  same  thing;"  but 
that  pouring  is  a  mode  by  which  baptism  may  be  effected; 
and  add  to  our  ery  this  farther, — no  well-informed  person 
will  say  that  "  to  dip  and.  to  baptize  are  the  same  thing.*' 
Thus  Fuller  lowers  the  time-worn  standard — "  dipping  is 
baptizing,  and  baptizing  is  dipping," — "  a  dcfiiiite  act," — 
"mode,  and  nothing, but  mode," — and  unfurls  in  its  stead 
the  heretical  motto — "immersion  by  pouring." 

(4.)  Dr.  Conant  translates,  without  comment,  "  im- 
mersed;" and  Professor  Ripley  translates  both  ^a7rri!^u>  and 
xaraxku^u)  by  '■''Overflow ;"  with  the  remark,  that  "  these  two 
words  are  equivalents."  It  may^  certainly,  be  so  used. 
But  I  would  ask  Professor  Ripley  if  he  ever  knew  ;3a'7rTw 
and  xaraxAo^^u/  to  DC  used  as  equivalents  ? 

Baptist  writers  have  been  allowed  to  speak  freely  on 
this  passage;  and  we  have  seen  the  faith  of  Gale  in  modal- 
ism  sadly  shaken  by  the  baptizing  billows;  while  that  of 
Fuller  is  wholly  swept  away.  Carson,  with  unflinching 
courage,  holds  on  to  modality  in  its  severest  forms,  and, 
with  a  boldness  above  that  of  England's  king,  plants  his 
system  by  the  sea-shore,  and  as  the  ocean  billows  dash 
over  him  and  it,  proclaims,  from  out  the  flood,  "that  it  is 
only  a  supposed  baptism,  and  the  Prince  of  Philosophers 
only  means  to  declare  him  bcaidifuUi/  dipped.'" 

Alexander  Carson,  LL.I).,  is  a  true  representative  man. 
He  is  the  last  of  the  giants  among  old-fashioned  modal 
Baptists.     No  other  such  man  will  ever  say — "  to  baptize 


■CUPID'S   BAPTISM,  245 

is  to  dip,  and  to  dip  is  to  baptize."  lie  claims  the  record, 
*'  If  dipping  could  have  been  defended  by  any  right  hand, 
it  would  have  been  defended  by  this," 


"3."  ■"!  found  Cupid  among  the  rose's,  and  holding 
him  by  the  wings  I  mcrsed  him  into  the  wine,  and  took 
and  drank  him."  Julian,  Eoypt. 

"  5."  Eut  when  the  Sun  had  mersed  himself  into  the 
Ocean  flood.  Oepheus. 

The  use  of  ei^^  in  these  passages  does  not  prove  that 
paTzi^o)  expresses  motion.  All  languages  employ  verbs  ex- 
pressive simply  of  iwsition  or  condition  in  connection  with 
prepositions  which  imply  (he  existence  of  movement.  lu 
such  cases  the  most  commonly  received  interpretation  is 
that  which  supplies  a  verb  of  motion. 

KUhner  gives  the  following  examples :  ifd>-q  Aic  ^k  <j56v — 

CTCtc  Iq  p.iaov — -api^aav  sic  -^qpuetq — eg  ttjV  ■Za^.ap.iva  u-ixetrat. 

Virgil  exhibits  similar  usage :  Sol  quoqiie,  et  exoricns,  et 
quumseconditinundas.  Ovid:  3Icrgilin  imaraiem.  Seneca: 
Mergere  ad  Sigga.  The  verb  of  motion  involved  in  this 
latter  phrase  is  expressed  in  a  parallel  passage  by  Ovid : 
Mersa,  Stggias  j)cneirarit  in  undas. 

The  same  usage  obtains  in  English:  He  buried  the  hall 
into  the  icood.     Thcg  landed  l](C  troops  into  Fort  Pichens. 

"To  appear,"  "to  stand,"  "to  be,"  "to  lie,"  &c.,  do 
not  express  movement,  yet  tliey  are  conjoined  with  prepo- 
sitions which  require  movement.  In  all  the  above  cases 
such  a  verb  must  be  supplied.  The  same  is  true  with 
regard  to  /Jarrt^w  when  it  is  used  wiih  eU,  which  usage  is 
not  frequent,  and  contrasts,  in  this  respect,  Avith  that  of 
jSd-Tio.  This  interpretation  is  sustained  by  the  use  of  the 
word  in  such  cases  as  that  of  "  the  coast  baptism,"  and  in 
all  cases  where  the  nature  of  the  act  affecting  the  condition 
is  such  as  no  one  thinks  of  assigning  to  /JaTrn'Cw. 

The  mersion  of  Cupid  is  not  a  dipping,  for  he  remains 


246  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

mersed  in  the  wine  until  he  is  swallowed  down  by  the 
drinker,  within  whom  his  "titillating  wings"  are  soon 
felt. 


"  2."  And  fishing-rod  triply  stretched,  and  cork  nn- 
mersed  by  water.  Archias. 

"  4."  We  wondered,  therefore,  seeing  them  not  mersed, 
but  sustained  above  the  waves.  Lxtoian. 

"  7."  A  bladder,  thou  mayest  be  mersed ;  but  there  is 
no  decree  for  thee  to  sink.  Plutakch. 

1^0  modality  of  act  can  be  gathered  from  these  passages. 
The  first  two  are  negative,  exhibiting  their  objects  in  an 
nnraersed  condition  ;  and  thus  sustain  the  view  that  a  bap- 
tized object  is  one  which  is  brought  into  a  definite  condition, 
and  not  one  which  is  made  the  subject  of  a  definite  action. 

The  third  passage  is  an  oracular  response  in  reference 
to  the  fate  of  Athens.  The  interpretation  of  the  passage 
turns  on  the  nature  of  a  skin  filled  with  air.  This  may, 
by  force,  be  placed  in  a  state  of  mersion;  but  its  nature  is 
such  that  it  makes  constant  resistance  to  a  continuance  in 
that  state ;  and  whenever  the  mersing  power  is  removed, 
it  will  rise  again  to  the  surface  unharmed,  for  a  state  of 
mersion  is  not  destructive  to  a  bladder.  "To  sink"  is  not 
a  distinctive  translation  of  du'^w,  nor  is  it  easy  to  furnish 
one;  it  is  used  as  an  equivalent  oi l^aTzH^w;  the  idea  being, 
that  while  the  bladder  might  be  mersed,  for  an  indefinite 
time,  it  was  not  to  continue  in  a  state  of  mersion.  The 
city  might  be  subjected  temporarily  to  foreign  influences, 
but  would  recover  from  them. 

Carson  translates :  "  Thou  mayest  be  dipped,  O  bladder, 
but  thou  art  not  fated  to  sink."  On  which  Dr.  Ilalley 
makes  the  following  criticism  :  "  And  is  it  not  surprising, 
if  anything  could  surprise  us,  in  the  impetuous  movements 
of  theological  controversy,  that  Dr.  Carson  should,  in  so 
many  other  places,  render  ^a-zi^iu  to  sink,  or  at  least  sur- 


ARMOR   BAPTISM.  247 

reptitiously  introduce  that  word  as  its  representative,  but 
here  should  make  this  self-same  sink,  his  most  obsequious 
servant,  come  out  the  antagonist  of  baptize,  and  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  characteristic  meaning  of  that  word  ?  Ob- 
serve the  tactics  of  the  great  defender  of  the  Baptists. 
What  is  to  baptize  ?  Something  cojitrasted  with  sinking, 
for  so  he  expounds  the  oracle,  and  jet  something  identified 
with  sinking;  for  that  word  he  often  employs  as  its  repre- 
sentative, as  baptized  in  debt  is,  according  to  him,  sunk 
in  debt.  "What  is  the  difference  between  /Sc/r-tTw  and  Swot 
The  former  is  only  to  dip,  the  latter  to  sink,  according  to 
p.  61.  To  sink  serves  both  for  the  synonyme  and  for  the 
opposite  of  baptize,  as  it  may  be  needed,  and  therefore  we 
say,  expurgate  the  book  from  that  treacherous  word,  with 
which  it  is  so  easy  to  play  fast  and  loose  throughout  the 
controversy"  (p.  85). 

This  "  surreptitious  "  use  of  sink  and  other  words  (among 
which  should  be  named,  with  emphasis,  immerse)  utterly 
vitiates  Carson's  argument.  Without  the  lawless  inter- 
change of  words,  widely  removed  in  meaning,  no  plausi- 
bility could  be  given  to  the  position,  "/3o-rcCw  always  means 
to  dip." 


"  6."  And  dying  they  filled  the  lake  with  dead  bodies; 
so  that  to  the  present  many  barbaric  arrows,  and  helmets, 
and  pieces  of  iron  breastplates  and  swords,  mersed-in  the 
marshes,  are  found.  Plutakch. 

Here  is  a  condition  of  mersion  in  which  these  weapons 
and  pieces  of  armor  are  found  after  the  lapse  of  a  long 
series  of  years.  It  will  require  Carson  to  rise  from  the 
dead  to  pronounce  this  a  case  of  d'ip}ytng.  Ilis  mantle  has 
fallen  on  no  living  man.  All  these  bows,  helmets,  breast- 
plates, swords,  were  equally  mersed.  Who  will  say  that 
they  were  mersed  by  the  same  modal  act  ?  If  by  acts  of 
diverse  modality,  who  will  say  that  ^ar^rt^u}  represents  acts 
contrariant  in  character  ?    Who  can  believe  that  it  makes 


248  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

the  slightest  difference  to  this  word  how  these  articles  got 
into  this  mcrsed  condition?  And  does  not  the  long  repose 
of  these  relics  in  a  state  of  mersiou  cast  shame  on  any 
theory  which  takes  /3a-rttw  for  its  corner-stone,  and  carves 
on  it  in  capitals — "  to  dip,  axd  nothing  but  dip"? 

The  Greek  word  is  compounded,  in  this  passage,  with  iv, 
and  is  translated  by  Dr.  Conant  "  /m-merse."  Thus  no 
difference  is  made  between  the  compound  and  the  im- 
compounded  word.  And,  farther,  the  preposition  is  local, 
and  whether  translated  merse-in  or  immerse,  the  prepo- 
sition only  gives  position  to  the  articles  mersed.  This  is 
always  the  force  of  the  compound  im-merse.  The  local 
preposition,  or  the  element  in  which  without  a  preposition, 
is  rarely  expressed.  The  word  itself,  as  expressive  of  con- 
dition, carries  (in  primary  use)  locality  with  it,  and  the 
subject-matter  shows  the  element.  It  is  more  necessary 
to  state  the  mersing  agency ;  and  when  the  simple  dative 
is  used,  it  is  employed  to  express  such  agency. 

The  passage  exhibits,  very  fairly,  the  meaning  of  the 
contested  word.  And  there  is  no  point  of  sympathy  with 
the  Baptist  theory.  "  But  it  makes  against  those  who 
adduce  it,"  says  Dr.  Fuller.  May-be  not.  At  any  rate, 
we  shall  have  a  plea  to  enter,  in  good  time,  so  that  judg- 
ment will  not  go  against  us  by  default. 


"  12."  Alexander  falling  upon  the  stormy  season,  and 
trusting,  commonly,  to  fortune,  pressed  on  before  the  flood 
went  out,  and  through  the  entire  day  the  army  marched 
mersed  up  to  the  waist.  Strabo. 

"  8."  They  marched  through  with  difficulty,  the  infantry 
being  mersed  up  to  the  breasts.  Polybius. 

Carson  (p.  58)  says :  "  Polybius  applies  it  to  soldiers 
waduif)  through  deep  water.  Does  not  this  decisively  de- 
termine the  meaning  of  baptizo?     llicij  were  not,  indeed, 


BAPTISM   BY   MARCHING.  249 

plunged  overhead.  That  only  was  baptized  which  was 
buried.  The  soldiers  in  passing  through  the  water  were 
dipped  as  far  as  the  breast." 

Was  there  ever  such  a  medley  of  words!  Baptized  by 
wading,  baptized  by  j^lunguig,  baptized  by  burying,  baptized 
by  dipping!  What  a  commentary  on  "the  one  meaning 
through  all  Greek  literature,"  and  that  meaning,  "  mode, 
and  nothing  but  mode."  Some  think  the  good  people  of 
Ireland  a  little  disloyal;  but  I  did  not  know  that  the  charge 
covered  such  disloyal  use  of  the  King's  or  Queen's  English 
as  to  say  that,  men  walking  through  the  water  all  day  were 
dipped!  Such  confusion  of  terms  and  ideas  gives  indubit- 
able proof  of  fundamental  error  in  the  conception  of  the 
meaning  of  the  word. 

The  only  act  causative  of  this  mersed  condition  of  the 
soldiers  is  that  of  "wading"  (Carson),  "passing  through" 
(Conant),  or,  technically,  marching,  is'ow,  does  the  Greek 
word  mean  to  wade,  to  pass  through,  to  march?  Yes,  if 
it  expresses  the  act  which  produces  the  mersion.  'No,  if 
it  expresses  the  condition  resultant  from  any  form  of  act 
competent  to  effect  it.  Which  view  does  common  sense 
and  the  laws  of  language  sustain?  Besides,  we  have  the 
act  producing  the  mersion  stated  by  another  word,  (oja- 
jSaivu)).  "Going  through"  neither  dips  nor  plunges.  It 
does  mcrse. 

Speaking  of  the  first  of  the  above  quotations,  Carson 
says :  "  Dr.  Gale  gives  some  striking  examples  from 
Strabo;"  and,  then,  he  and  Gale  join  in  translating /Ja-rt'Cty 
by  "sink,"  "sink  or  dipped."  Then  Carson  adds:  "Now, 
in  these  several  passages,  the  modal  meaning  of  the  word 
is  confirmed  in  so  clear,  express,  and  decisive  a  manner, 
that  obstinacy  itself  cannot  find  a  plausible  objection." 

It  may  be  that  no  objection  can  be  found  against  the 
testimony  of  such  passages  when  adduced  to  prove  that 
"  ISanri^u)  means  to  dip,  always,  and  never  expresses  any- 
thing but  mode;"  for  an  objection  implies  general  truth, 
or  some  truth,  or,  at  least,  an  appearance  of  truth,  while 


250  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

the  offer  of  the  testimony  of  such  passages  to  prove  a 
modal  dipping  is  simply  the  baldest  absurdity. 

If  Dr.  Carson  were  to  take  the  passage  from  Aristotle — 
"  The  berry,  being  pressed,  moistens  QJa-rs:)  and  colors  the 
hand,"  and  translate  it— "The  berry,  being  pressed,  dips 
(^d-ret)  and  dyes  the  hand,"— then  urge  it  as  proving  "the 
modal  meaning 'of  dip,  in  so  clear,  express,  and  decisive  a 
manner,  that  obstinacy  itself  cannot  find  an  objection," 
his  assumption,  that  his  readers  have  not  intelligence  above 
idiocy,  would  not  be  more  manifest  than,  when,  he  adduces 
such  passages  as  that  from  Strabo  as  proof  of  the  modal 
act  of  dipping. 

As  the  ocean  tide  flows  over  the  Baptist  theory,  and 
merscs  it  beyond  redemption,  so,  every  heel  of  the  march- 
ing armies  of  Strabo  and  Polybius  tramples  on  it,  and 
leaves  it  drowned  beneath  the  waters. 


"  10."  Being  innocent,  he  advances,  unhesitatingly,  hav- 
ing the  water  to  the  knees;  but  v/hen  guilty,  proceeding  a 
short  distance  he  is  mersed  up  to  the  head.         Poephyry. 

This  transaction  is  represented  as  occurring  at  a  lake  in 
India,  which,  according  to  the  Brahmins,  has  the  power 
of  revealing  character. 

This  is  another  case  of  baptism  by  walking.  Or,  will 
anv  one  say  that  the  walking  into  the  water  and  the  bap- 
tizing were  two  distinct  acts;  that  after  "  walking  into  the 
water  up  to  his  knees,"  he  was  then  dipped  "  up  to  his 
head;"  that  mersion  by  walking  is  no  baptism,  while  mer- 
sion  by  dipping  is  baptism?  Will  Professor  Ripley  say 
this?  He  does  say  (as  we  have  seen),  "N"o  one  believes 
that  the  going  down  into  the  water  is  the  baptism;  these 
two  things  are  perfectly  distinct :  the  baptism  takes  place 
after  the  descent  into  the  water;  it  is  expressed  by  another 
word."  "Well,  Polybius,  and  Porphyry,  and  Strabo,  had  a 
different  notion  of  baptism   from   the   Professor.     They 


BAPTISM    BY    FALLING.  251 

thought  that  the  action  of  walking  was  quite  competent  to 
effect  a  baptism  without  the  help  of  any  other  word.  If 
these  sinners  were  dipped  or  plunged,  we  should,  indeed, 
need  another  word ;  but  Porphyry  manages  the  baptism 
by  the  sole  aid  of  Tpo^a'ao}.  Surely,  this  passage  brings 
neither  aid  nor  comfort  to  the  upholders  of  the  dogma, 
"Baptizing  is  dipping,  and  dipping  is  baptizing."  Por- 
phyry, certainly,  was  a  stranger  to  the  doctrine.  But, 
"the  passage  makes  against  those  who  adduce  it."  Is  this 
the  only  wine  and  oil  which  can  be  found  to  alleviate  the 
deadly  wounds  of  Baptist  theory  ?  Remember,  "  a  wise 
man  does  not  determine  a  matter  before  he  heareth  it." 
"Wait  and  hear. 


"  9."  Although  the  spear  should  fall  out  into  the  sea,  it 
is  not  lost;  for  it  is  constructed  out  of  both  oak  and  pine, 
so  that  the  oaken  part  being  mersed  by  the  weight,  the 
rest  is  floating  and  easily  recovered.  Polybius. 

The  modal  act  in  this  baptism  is  sinkiwj.  So  much  of 
the  spear  as  is  mersed,  is  mersed  by  the  act  of  sinkino-  in 
consequence  of  greater  specific  gravity.  ISTow,  shall  we 
on  this  account  say,  ^a-riX,oi  expresses  the  modal  act  of 
sinking  ? 

There  is  no  dipping  in  the  passage.  The  axe  which  fell 
into  the  Jordan  and  sank,  was  not  dipped.  The  fish-spear 
which  fell  out  of  the  vessel  and  sank,  so  far  as  it  became 
mersed,  was  not  dipped.  Whether  it  was  recovered  im- 
mediately, or  whether  it  be  unrecovered  to  this  hour,  does 
not  affect  the  nature  of  the  transaction.  The  action  of 
falling  and  sinking  cannot  be  converted  into  the  action  of 
dipping.  Kor  can  the  condition  of  mersion,  the  result  of 
the  action  of  falling  and  sinking,  undergo  the  metamor- 
phosis of  passing  out  of  condition  into  this  twofold,  or  any 
other  form  of  action. 

The  weight,  causing  the  mersion,  is  expressed  by  the 


252  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

dative  without  a  preposition ;  which  is  the  common  mode 
of  indicating  the  baptizing  power. 


"  11."  To  one  throwing  down  a  javelin,  from  above, 
into  the  channel,  the  force  of  the  water  resists  so  much 
that  it  is  hardly  mersed.  Stkabo. 

This  is  the  case  of  a  stream  flowing  rapidly  through 
a  contracted  channel.  The  act  of  baptism  is  "  throwing 
down."  This  is  as  good  a  modal  act  for  baptizing  as  any 
other,  of  some  scores,  that  might  be  mentioned.  Shall  we 
append  it  to  the  list  of  meanings  expressed  by  that  mar- 
vellous Greek  word?  Or,  wearied  with  such  havoc  made 
of  the  laws  of  language,  shall  we  exclaim — Ohe!  ja)ii 
satis  est. 

RESULTS. 

All  the  cases  of  primary  use,  in  which  the  mersed  object 
remains  uninfluenced  by  the  mcrsion,  have,  now,  been, 
examined.    Most  persons  will  accept  the  following  results : 

1.  The  confounding  together  of  such  widely  separated 
words  as  /Jazrw  and  (ia-Kzi^u)  is  as  surprising  as  it  is  unwar- 
ranted. 

These  words  have  spheres  of  their  own,  and  as  they  do 
not,  in  truth,  trench  on  each  other,  so  they  should  not,  by 
our  error,  be  made  to  do  so. 

Bapting  is  not  Baptizing,  neither  is  Baptizing  Bapting. 

2.  To  represent  /SarrtTw  by  dip  is  wholly  destitute  of 
authority  from  Greek  writers. 

3.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Baptist  system — "Dipping 
is  Baptizing,  and  Baptizing  is  Dipping,"  is  pure  error. 
While  the  attempt  to  sustain  that  system  by  the  admix- 
ture of  dip  and  immerse  is  a  mixing  together  of  iron  and 
clay,  which  truth  will  break  in  pieces. 


RESULTS.  253 

4.  Any  attempt  to  make  ^a~riZw  express,  immediately, 
form  of  action  and  not  condition,  must  prove  abortive, 
because  unfounded  in  truth. 

5.  The  demand  of /9a-r:tw  is  for  intusposition.  To  secure 
this  it  lays  equal  claim  upon  any  act,  or  upon  any  number 
of  acts,  which  may  be  competent  and  needful  to  meet  the 
demand. 

6.  While  some  objects  remain  unaflbeted  by  intusposi- 
tion within  a  fluid,  or  other  closely  investing  element,  it  is 
obvious,  that  such  a  condition  gives  fullest  opportunity  for 
the  exercise  of  the  peculiar  influence  of  the  investing 
element  over  the  enveloped  object. 

7.  Ba-T'Xio  is  without  limitation  of  power,  object,  or  du- 
ration. Limitations,  in  these  respects,  must  come  outside 
of  itself 

We  now  proceed  to  consider  that  class  of  baptisms  which 
influences  the  object  baptized. 


254  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 


INTUSPOSITION   WITH   INFLUENCE. 

1.  "O-coi;  TO  ixtv  lja7ZTt!^6fj.evov  ri^?  vrjoq  d>a/.ou^{ffa'.,'iev. 

Achilles  Tat.  iii,  1. 

2.  AVi  luxpoi)  (^aTzriZerai  to  a/.dfoz.  "  "      iii,  1. 

3.  Ba-Ti^ti  TOO  Xoytfffiou  Trjv  dvanyOT^v.  "  "      iv,   10. 

4.  y^T  vawq  -/.ivdwwouffriq  iSa-Ti'^saOa'..  ^Esop,  Shepherd  and  the  Sea. 

5.  Tij'^  <l"JX^f''  o-yav  jSe^a-izTctr/jii'^r]'^  tw  <T(I)jj.7.Tt.  Alex.  Aphrod.  i,  28. 

6.  Bs[ja-Tiff!ii'^T}v  Iv  Tto  (idOtt  too  ad)ii.aTo<^.  "  "        ii,  38. 

7.  'AOpoux;  xaTa^^a-Ti^^ec  xai  <T,3iwu(Tt.  "  "         i,  16. 

8.  UepiXricpOhTa  5'.a.(p6itpzTa'.  [MyzTt^opsva.      Diod.  Sic.  i,  36. 

9.  Tr^i:  ds  vachq  (SaiZTiffOsiffYj^,  TUpa^r^  v.a-iayz.     "         '•   xi,  18. 

10.  KaTa^tpoiizvoq  tzoUou^  i^d-Ti^s.  "  xvi,  80. 

11.  Td  Te  Tikola.   .   .   .   vauXoyouvTa  ^aTZTinSi^'^at. 

Dion.  Cass  Bom.  Hid.  xxxvii,  58. 

12.  0\  ds  xai VjTo  too  fidpou^  abrwv  (ianTiadhTsq. 

Dion.  Cass.  Bom.  Hist,  xli,  42. 

13.  0\  piv  v-b  TOO  r^vsupaToq iPar.Ti'^o'^TO. 

Dion.  Cass.  Bom.  Hist.  Ixxiv,  13. 

14.  "Oq  vdv  TtTdpTri'>  rjpipav  j3a-Ti!^eTai.  EabuluS,  Nausicaa. 

15.  'jEv  vr/i  ;i£yd).7j -A/wv  ^a—i'^tsSai.     Epictet.  Mor.  Dis.  xi. 

16.  "Ildrj  di  jSaTTTc^opJvojv  xai  xaTaSo'mi  p.upw.    Hcliod.  jEthiop.  V,  28. 

17.  Ttjv  vy,a  TZoXhuG'.  <popTioi<7'.  ^ar.Tiaa'jTa.  HlppOCrates^  iii,  809. 

18.  Ka\  dv^TTvesy  w?  h.  too  ^jt^jar.TiaOai.  "  iii,  571. 
ID.  'Q.q  ^a-TMhToq.  .  .  .  w^Ts  ezppa-^6:;-^at.   Homer, -Life  of ;  ii,  26. 

20.  Ka\  en  ^y  rw  (TcupaTi  /Sj/Ja-rjfT/x^yjj.      Flotinus,  Enuead.  i,  8,  13. 

21.  'A-epiTpsTZTov  7.a\  d,3d-Tt(j-ov.  Plutarch,  Animals,  xxxv. 

22.  T-'  duTWv  iSa-TC^otisvo:  xai  xaTdduvovTsq.       PobjbiuS,  Hist.  V,  47. 

23.  WuSs  yap  Toli;  dzoXopiSotq  ^aTZTtZtsOai  (To/xiSat'^si.     Sfrabo,  vi,  2,  9. 

24.  Mrjdk  l3aKT{'U<Teat  tov  IpjSd'^Ta.  "      xiv,  2,  42. 

25.  ^ LfiaT.TiX.ovTo  uTo  T/^q  r^a'^iorMaq.  Suidas,  Lexicon. 


QUOTATIONS.  255 


BAPTISM    WITH    INFLUENCE. 

1.  That  we  might  raise  up  the  mersed  part  of  the  ship. 

2.  And  the  ship  is  nearly  mersed. 

3.  Merses  the  breathing  of  the  intellect. 
4    The  ship  in  hazard  of  being  mersed. 

5.  The  .soul  being  mersed  very  much  by  the  body. 

6.  Mersed  in  the  depth  of  the  body. 

7.  Suddenly  demerses  and  quenches  the  vital  warmth. 
8    Many  inclosed  by  the  river  perish,  being  mersed. 

9.  His  ship  having  been  mersed,  confusion  seized  the  fleet. 

10.  Carrying  down  many,  mersed  and  destroyed  them. 

11.  And  ships  anchored  were  mersed. 

12.  And  others  j^erished,  mersed,  by  their  own  weight,  in  the 

very  vessels. 

13.  Some  were  mersed  by  the  wind,  using  it  immoderately. 

14.  Who  is  mersed,  now,  the  fourth  day. 

15.  To  be  mersed  sailing  in  a  large  and  elegant  vessel. 

16.  Mersed  and  ready  to  go  down. 

17.  Mersed  the  ship  by  much  freight. 

18.  And  breathed  as  one  out  of  a  state  of  mersion. 

19.  So  mersed  as  to  be  warmed. 

20.  Mersed,  still,  in  the  body. 

21.  Not  liable  to  be  overturned  and  un-mersible. 

22.  Mersed  by  themselves  and  sinking  in  the  marshes. 

23.  It  does  not  happen  to  those  unable  to  swim  to  be  mersed. 

24.  Nor  is  one  entering  it  mersed,  but  lifted  out. 

25.  They  were  mersed  by  the  full  armor. 


256  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

PAETICULAFv  CASES  EXAMINED. 
BAPTISM    BY    STORM. 

1.  "  We  all,  therefore,  changed  our  position  to  the 
higher  parts  of  the  ship,  that  we  might  raise  up  the  mersed 
part  of  the  vessel."  Achilles  Tatitjs. 

2.  "  The  wind  changes  suddenly  to  the  other  side  of 
the  ship,  and  it  is  nearly  mersed."  Achilles  Tatitjs. 

4.  "  A  severe  storm  occurring,  and  the  ship  in  hazard 
of  being  mersed,  throwing  out  all  the  cargo  into  the  sea, 
he  was  hardly  saved  by  the  empty  ship."  ^sop. 

9.  "  The  commander  was  slain,  and  his  ship  being 
mersed,  confusion  seized  the  fleet  of  the  barbarians." 

,  DiODORXJS   SlCULCS. 

11.  "  The  vessels  which  were  in  the  Tiber,  and  an- 
chored at  the  city  and  at  its  mouth,  were  mersed." 

Diox  Cassitjs. 

15.  "  As  you  would  not  wnsh,  sailing  in  a  large  and 
elegant  and  gilded  ship,  to  be  mersed."    Epictetl-s. 

IG.  "  Already  being  mersed  and  wanting  little  of  going 
down,  some  of  the  pirates,  at  first,  attempted  to  pass  into 
their  own  boat."  Heliodorus. 

17.  "  Shall  I  not  ridicule  one  mersing  his  ship  by  much 
freight,  the  blaming  the  sea  for  sinking  it  full." 

Hippocrates. 

21.  "  Of  many  models,  the  only  one  not  to  be  overturned 
and  unmersiblc."  Plutarch. 

(1.)  All  these  cases,  except  the  last,  refer  to  the  loss  of 
vessels  at  sea  by  storm  or  otherwise.  Such  cases  are  too 
fully  self-explieative  to  need  detailed  remarks,     BdTzrw  is 


BAPTISM    BY    STORM.  257 

never  used  in  such  cases,  and,  thus,  is  separated  from 

(2.)  To  sink  is  the  final  act  of  mersion  in  all  these  cases, 
yet  Baptists  never  bring  this  word  into  the  foreground  as 
their  meaning,  although  "  dip"  has  no  claims  in  compari- 
son with  it.  It  is,  not  unfrequently,  sHpped  in  as  a  ne- 
cessity. 

(3.)  Conant  commonly  translates  such  cases  by  "  sub- 
merged," Why  s;<6-merged  rather  than  /;/i-merged  or 
ivn-mcrsed^  if  all  mean  the  same  thing?  And,  why  these 
jjrepositions  and  diversities  when  the  Greek  word  has 
none,  and  remains  the  same  ? 

(4.)  He  a] so  "translates,  in  the  third  passage,  "  Saved  in 
the  empty  ship."  In  itself  considered,  this  is  of  no  mo- 
ment: yet,  as  the  dative  case  claims  an  important  position 
among  the  determining  elements  of  this  inquiry,  we  should 
study  accuracy  and  uniformity  in  all  such  cases. 

This  dative  is  without  a  preposition,  and  is  not  locative 
It  is,  indeed,  true  that  the  shepherd  was  saved  in  the  ship, 
but  this  is  not  the  fact  designed  to  be  stated.  He  was  in 
the  ship,  loaded  or  empty,  and,  of  course,  he  was  to  be 
saved  in  the  ship ;  but  we  are  told  that  he  could  not  be 
saved  by  a  loaded  ship,  and,  therefore,  he  tried  to  save  him- 
self by  an  empty  ship,  and  was  successful.  The  point  of 
the  statement  is.  that  by  a  loaded  ship  he  would  be  lost, 
while  by  an  empty  ship  he  would  be  saved. 

The  importance  of  the  passage  is  not  in  the  sentiment, 
but  in  securing  the  proper  treatment  of  the  case. 

(5.)  All  these  cases  exhibit  tlie  mersion  as  attended 
with  influence  in  the  highest  degree.  It  is  destructive  in 
its  nature. 

In  all  the  usage  of  fidTz-w  there  is  nothing  which  ap- 
proaches this,  either  in  measure  or  kind. 

(6.)  The  duration  of  the  mersion,  in  connection  with 
these  facts,  has  not  yet  run  out;  although,  in  some  cases, 

17 


258  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

it  has  already  lasted  two  thousand  years.  It  will  continue 
until  "the  seas  give  up  their  dead."  Mersion  is  not,  ne- 
cessarily, of  prolonged  duration;  but  it  is  without  any 
self-limitation.  It  is  permanent,  except  made  otherwise 
by  some  extraneous  influence. 
Does  this  look  like  a  dipping  ? 

(7.)  It  is  the  indefinitely  long  continuance  of  mersion 
which  qualifies  it  to  exert  a  controlling  influence  over 
objects  physically  mersed,  and  which  makes  it  the  repre- 
sentative word  for  any  controlling  influence  (not  asso- 
ciated with  physical  mersion),  however  that  influence  be 
induced. 

INTUSPOSITION  WITH  INFLUENCE. 
BAPTISM   BY   WEIGHT. 

12.  "Crowds  of  them  fleeing  perished;  some  in  em- 
barking upon  the  boats,  thrown  down  by  the  press; 
others,  even  in  the  boats  mersed  by  their  own  weight." 

Dion  Cassius. 

13.  "Attempting  to  escape,  some  way  or  other,  some 
of  them  were  mersed  by  the  wind,  using  it  immoderately; 
others  were  destroyed,  being  overtaken  by  the  enemy." 

Dion  Cassius. 

22.  "But  mersed  by  themselves,  and  sinking  in  the 
marshes,  were  all  useless,  and  many  of  them  were  de- 
stroyed." POLYBIUS. 

•  23.  "  Pools  near  Agrigentum  have  the  taste  of  salt 
water,  but  a  difl'erent  nature;  for  it  does  not  happen  to 
the  unskilled  in  swimming  to  be  mersed."    Strabo. 

24.  "  Then  floating,  through  the  nature  of  the  water, 
according  to  which,  we  have  said,  to  swim  was  not  neces- 
sary; nor  is  one  entering  it  mersed,  but  lifted  out." 

Strabo. 


BAPTISM   BY   BOILING-UP.  259 

25.  "  They  were  mersed  by  the  full  armor."        Suidas. 

In  all  these  cases  of  mersion  "the  act  of  baptism"  is 
sink,  and  nothing  but  sink.  Yet  I  do  not  know  of  any 
Baptist  Avriter  who  gives  this  act  as  the  act  of  baptism. 
Recognized  it  has  to  be;  but  it  is  an  acquaitance  to  which 
they  have  no  partiality;  in  whose  presence  they  do  not  feel 
comfortable,  and  from  whom  they  part  as  soon  as  possible. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  reason  for  this.  AVhat  it  is,  it  is 
not  difficult  to  discover.  There  is  too  wide  a  gulf  between 
dip  and  sink  for  the  patrons  of  the  former  to  extend  their 
countenance  to  the  latter.  Sink  is  a  very  explicit  and 
homely  English  word,  that  everybody  can  understand,  and 
to  say  that  the  "one  meaning  running  through  all  Greek 
literature"  is  sink,  would  be  to  sink  the  cause;  therefore, 
it  is  toned  down  into  the  Latinism — "  sub-merged." 

It  would  hardly  answer  to  insist  on  a  divine  command 
*'  to  sink  men  in  water;"  but  if  a  modal  act  must  be  as- 
signed to  the  Greek  word,  none  has  a  better  claim  than 
sink.  The  truth,  however,  is,  that  such  is  not  its  meaning; 
and  to  look  for  its  meaning  in  any  such  direction  is  fruit- 
ful only  in  disappointment.  Sink,  like  a  cloud  of  other 
words,  puts  its  object  in  a  state  of  mersion;  but  neither  it 
nor  they  can  claim  to  be  expressed,  distinctively,  by  jSaTcrc^o). 

The  influence  of  this  mersion  is  destructive. 

/ 

BAPTISM    BY   FLOWING    OR    UPRISING. 

2.  "  The  blood  boiling  up,  through  great  force,  often 
overflows  the  veins,  and  flowing  round  the  head  witliln, 
merses  the  breathing  (passage)  of  the  intellect." 

AchIlles  Tatius. 

6.  "Why  do  some,  being  alarmed,  die?  Because  the 
physical  power  fleeing,  overmuch,  into  the  depth,  with  the 
blood,  all  at  once  sub-merses  and  quenches  the  natural  and 
vital  warmth  which-  is  at  the  heart,  and  causes  death." 

Alexander  Aphrodisias. 


260  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

7.  "Many  of  the  land  animals,  snrronndecT  by  the  river, 
perish,  being  mersed;  but  some,  fleeing  to  the  high  places, 
are  saved."  Diodorus  Siculus. 

9.  "  The  river,  with  a  stronger  current,  rolling  down, 
mersed  many,  and,  swimming  tlirough  with  their  arms, 
destroyed  them."  Diocorus  Siculusi 

Very  brief  comment  will  suffice  for  these  passages. 


"  2."  This  is  the  case  of  a  person  who  has  fallen  down, 
in  a  state  of  unconsciousness, 

"  Wlielni"  [Conant).  This  translation  ignores  "the  act 
of  baptism."  Tliat  act  was  "flowing  round"  (Tzspcxku^w), 
which  is  materially  diiferent  from  dip.  Such  case&  show 
how  vain  is  the  attempt  to  fasten  on  to  /SarrrCw  the  form 
of  any  act,  whatever,  by  which  an  object  is  put  into  a  tiuid 
element;  and,  no  less,  any  attempt  to  stamp  it  with  the 
form  of  any  movement  by  which  a  fluid  is  brought  upon 
its  object.  It  is  only  surprising  that  such  an  attempt 
should  ever  have  been  made.  Should  it  be  persevered 
in,  I  nominate,  as  a  worthy  candidate,  for  "  the  one  modal 
meaning  through  all  Greek  literature" — -Jlomnfj  round! 


"  6."  The  act  of  baptism  is  the  same  vnih  the  preced- 
ing,— flowing  of  the  blood. 

"  Wlielm"  (Conant).  Whelm  neither  immerees  nor  im- 
merges  (in  the  sense  put  into) ;  nor  submerges  (in  the 
sense  put,  moving  the  object,  under);  nor  dips,  nor 
plunges,  nor  inibuthes  (in  the  sense  bathing  by  putting 
into).  If  thi^  be  a  just  and  distinctive  translation,  what 
becomes  of  dip  and  plunge  as  distinctive  translations ? 

But  the  point  of  special  interest,  in  this  passage,  is  the 
unanswerable  proof  which  it  furnishes,  that  a  heated  body 
may  be  "quenched"  by  pouring,  or,  in  any  other  way, 
brins-injT  water  over  a  heated  mass.     The  vital  warmth 


BAPTISM    BY   WATER   AND   BLOOD.  261 

was  baptized  and  quenched  by  blood  pouring  over  it. 
Baptist  writers  have  ever  insisted,  most  ancompromis- 
iuglj,  that  there  was  but  one  way  in  which  heated  metals 
could  be  quenched  by  baptism,  and  that  was  by  dipping 
them  into  water.  This  error  is,  here,  made  patent.  The 
mode  which  is  orthodox  for  baptizing  the  vital  warmth,  is 
equally  orthodox  for  baptizing  heated  metal. 


"  7."  The  inundation  of  the  Kile  is  the  subject  of  de- 
scription. 

It  seems  hardly  credible  that  Carson  should  offer  this  as 
a  case  of  modal  dipping,  and  yet  it  is  even  so.  It  is  well 
to  have  a  writer  who  uses  a  pen  which  leaves  a  mark  so 
bold  in  character,  that  he  who  runs  may  read,  as  otherwise 
it  would  soon  be  questioned  that  such  extravagant  views 
were  ever  held,  or  that  it  was  ever  said,  that  "ySa^rn'^w  meant 
dip  and  nothing  else."  This  is  his  language:  "  The  whole 
laud,  overwhelmed,  might  be  said  to  be  niodally  dipped, 
by  catachresis,  and  that  the  animals  would  at  first  swim, 
and  then  sink,  and  be  entirely  immersed.  The  sinking 
of  animals  is  here  called  baptism.  "What,  then,  is  baptism 
but  immersion?" 

Here  is  a  in'dtmge  of  words  which  exhibits  a  remarkable 
rhetorical  and  logical  monstrosity.  Egypt  might,  by  the 
Mle's  inundation,  "  be  said  to  be  modally  dipped.'"  Un- 
doubtedly it  might  be  so  said;  but  not  outside  of  a  lunatic 
asylum.  But  if  Egypt,  or  any  part  of  it,  might  be  said  to 
be  "modally  dipped,"  Diodorus  says  iiothing  about  the 
land  being  dipped  or  baptized,  but  the  animals  only. 
Might  it,  also,  be  said  that  these  drowned  animals  were 
"  modally  dipped  by  catachresis"?  Such  catachrestic  dip- 
pings would  not  answer  in  Tubbermore  baptisms.  But 
"the  animals  swim,  then  sink,  then  are  immersed."  Can 
there  be  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  as  to  the  sense  in  which 
"immersed"  is,  here,  used?  Is  there  any  possibility  for 
its  meaning  to  dip,  even  "by  catachresis"?  Does  it  not 
represent  the  condition  of  the  animals  after  sinking,  and 


262  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

as  a  consequence  of  the  act  of  sinking?  Is  there  not, 
therefore,  an  elimination  of  the  expression  of  act  on  its 
own  part?  And  this  is  the  true  and  only  proper  use  of 
the  word.  But  Dr.  Carson  tells  us,  in  the  opening  of  his 
book,  that  the  modal  act  dip,  and  immerse,  are  equiva- 
lents; while,  here,  he  uses  it  stripped  of  all  modal  act,  and 
expressive  of  condition  resultant  from  the  act  of  sinking. 
Such  is  the  duplicit}'  of  use  (not  of  intention)  which  marks 
this  Avord,  "  The  sinking  of  animals  is  here  called  bap- 
tism." This  is  error.  It  is  neither  here  said,  nor  can  it 
be  said,  that  sinking  is  baptism.  The  one  word  expresses 
an  act,  and  the  other  a  condition.  They  cannot,  with  any 
propriety,  be  interchanged.  Sink,  on  this  occasion,  as 
flow,  fall,  throw,  walk,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  on  other  occasions, 
expresses  the  form  of  the  act  by  which  the  drowning-bap- 
tism  took  place. 

"  What,  then,  is  baptism  but  immersion  ? "  Logic  would 
reply  :  "  If  the  sinking  of  animals  is  called  baptism,"  then 
"baptism  must  be  sinking."  But  this  would  not  answer 
Baptist  need,  nor  "the  one  meaning  throughout  Greek 
literature;"  therefore,  the  duplicity-word  —  immersion — 
must  be  slipped  in,  and  in  a  sense  which  gives  it  mode. 
For  if  sinking  is  baptism  and  baptism  is  immersion,  then 
immersion  is  the  modal  act, — sinking;  which  is  not  true. 
The  passage  reminds  us,  very  forcibly,  of  "  nodding 
Homer."  Indeed,  Dr.  Carson^s  book  of  half  a  thousand 
pages,  so  far  as  intended  to  prove  that  "  /Sarrt'^w  means  to 
dip  and  nothing  but  dip,"  is  one  long  nod. 

Dr.  Fuller  expounding  the  passage  says,  "the  violent 
current  sank  many."  The  Doctor  forgets  that  the  sea- 
coast  Baptism  made  him  flee  from  a  modal  act  to  immodal 
immerse — exclaiming,  with  conscious  relief,  "  Mi/  position 
is  that  lia-nrcXio  means  to  immerse."  Why  has  that  position 
been  abandoned  for  this  sinking  position  ?  Are  immerse 
and  sink  the  same?  The  sea-ooast  was  admitted  to  be 
neither  dipped  nor  plunged;  was  it  "  sunk"? 

Baptist  writers  (seeing  that  the  suggestion  of  difficulty 
in  the  translation  of  this  word  is  all  "  a  pretence,"  and 


BAPTISM   THROUGH    FOUR   DAYS.  263 

that  it  has  but  one  meaning,  of  which  they  are  the  perfect 
masters)  present  themselves,  in  their  writings,  in  a  rather 
remarkable  aspect  by  such  colliding  translations. 


"  9."  This  is  a  death  baptism  by  a  strong  river  current. 

These  baptisms  are  a  sort  of  dipping  hardly  contem- 
plated in  "Baptizing  is  dipping,  and  dipping  is  bapti- 
zing." They  exhibit  an  influence  exerted  over  their  object 
such  as  no  Greek  ever  used  /?a;rrw  to  express,  and  to  which 
no  one,  in  a  sane  mind,  would  apply  dip. 

BAPTISM   THROUGH   FOUR    DAYS — "DROAVNED" — "DRUNK." 


1^. 


"  Who  is  mersed,  now  the  fourth  day,  wearing 
av/ay  the  life  of  a  miserable,  starveling  mullet." 

EUBULUS. 

"Immerged"  {Conant),  "Why,  rather  than  immersed, 
dipped,  plunged,  I  do  not  know.  lie  says :  "  It  is  spoken 
with  comic  extravagance  of  one  whose  vessel  is  wrecked 
in  a  storm,  and  a  prey  to  the  ingulfing  floods."  A  trans- 
lation from  the  Athenseus  of  Schweighauser  is  given: 

"  Qui  nunc  quartuni  in  diem  undis  mergitur 
Jejunam  niiseri  mugilis  terens  vitam." 

A  similar  translation  is  given  in  Aihencei  Dejpnosophista- 
rum,  Lugduni,  1612: 

"Quartum  jam  diem,  in  aqua,  mergitur 
Misellique  Nestios  Cestrei  vitam  agit.'^ 

Dr.  Fuller  takes  a  diflferent  view  of  the  passage:  "  Athen- 
seus  quotes  an  ancient  author,  who  says  of  a  drunken  man: 
He  is  drowned  or  sunk  (baptized)  now  the  fourth  day, 
leading  the  life  of  a  miserable  mullet." 

The  limited  examination  which  I  have  been  able  to  give 
the  passages,  in  a  library  some  distance  from  my  home, 
does  not  warrant  my  acting  as  umpire  between  these  par- 
ties.   Whether  this  unfortunate  man  was  "immerged/'  or 


264  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

"  drowned,"  or  "  sunk,"  or  "  made  drunk,"  his  case  is  a 
much  more  serious  one  than  it  could  have  been  under  any 
condition  o^  dipping. 

"Four  days"  is  along  time  to  pass  tlirough  the  process 
of  dipping. 


"  16."  "For,  indeed,  hereby  he  shows  greater  emphasis, 
as  if  the  sword  were  so  mersed  as  to  be  warmed." 

Homer's  Life  and  Poetry. 

"Imbathed"  (Conani).  Who  refers  to  Iliad,  xxi,  476 
(xx,  476,  it  should  be),  and  xvi,  333,  for  the  passages  which 
induce  the  comment. 

I  see  nothing  in  Homer  which  implies  that  the  entire 
sword  was  within  the  body  in  either  case.  Nor  does  the 
comment  require  that  the  critic  supposed  any  such  thing. 
He  only  says  that  the  sword  was  so  baptized  as  to  be 
heated.  AVarm  blood  covering  a  sword,  more  or  less, 
might  heat  the  entire  blade,  or  be  poetically  supposed  to 
do  so. 

Im-hiiihe  has  no  right  to  represent  iSaTzrc^w.  The  sword 
was  warmed  %  blood  and  not  in  it.  The  sword  was  so 
baptized  with  blood  as  to  be  warmed  by  it. 

The  baptism  was  one  of  decided  influence. 


BAPTISM    OP    THE    SOUL. 

a  4  "  u  They  have  the  soul  very  much  mersed  by  the 
body,  and  therefore  the  seminal  element  partaking  in  the 
highest  degree  of  the  rational  and  physical  power,  makes 
its  offspring  more  intelligent."        Alexander  Aphrodisias. 

"5."  "Because  they  have  their  nature  and  perceptive 
power  mersed  in  the  depth  of  the  body."    Alex.  Aphrod. 

"17."  "She  dies,  therefore,  as  the  soul  may  die;  and 
death  to  her,, even  yet  mersed  in  the  body,  is  to  sink  iu 
matter,  and  to  be  filled  of  it."  Plotinus. 


BAPTISM   OF   THE   SOUL.  265 

(1.)  We,  naturally,  notice  first,  tliat  the  investing  ele- 
ment is  not  a  fluid  but  a  corporal  body.  It  is  similar  to 
the  use  of  mergo  with  a  cavern,  and  to  that  of  immerse 
with  inclosure  in  a  dungeon. 

(2.)  The  first  and  second  of  these  passages  do  not  pre- 
sent their  mcrsions  under  the  same  aspect.  In  the  second 
(which  refers  to  brutes)  it  is  simply  intusposition,  which  is, 
directly,  stated.  The  preposition  is  used  with  the  dative 
{iv  TuJ  ftdest  TOO  GUiim-oq).  The  implication  of  influence  is 
found  in  l'>  tw  (idiet. 

In  the  first  passage,  the  position  of  the  soul  is  made 
subordinate  to  the  influence  exerted  over  it  by  the  body, 
in  consequence  of  that  position.  Consequently,  we  have 
the  dative  without  the  local  preposition  (l^siSannffixivr^v  rut 
ffiofj-arc).  Accordant  with  this  is  the  qualifying  ciyav,  "  very 
much."  This  is  perfectly  suited  to  quality  influence,  but 
not  position.  The  body  acts  upon  the  soul,  in  unusual 
degree,  and  represses  its  development,  wdiile  the  soul  re- 
acts upon  the  body,  mersing  it,  interpenetrating  it,  with 
those  powers  which  are  not  allowed  to  have  outward  de- 
velopment. 

(3.)  The  third  passage  combines  both  those  features.  It 
gives  the  soul  intusposition  in  the  body  (^v  ro)  awjiaTt.  l^eftdrzKr- 
p.ivrj),  and,  then,  describes  the  excessive  and  improper  in- 
fluence exerted  over  it,  through  the  body,  as  death  to  the 
soul,  while  the  body  lives. 

(4.)  How  the  soul  is  mersed  by  the  body,  we  may  under- 
stand, measurably.  By  what  process  the  soul  becomes 
mersed  in  the  body  is  not  said.  Ba~-t'Cu}  does  not  throw 
one  scintilla  of  light  on  this  point.  Dr.  Ilalley  says :  "  The 
Platonists  evidently  meant,  by  their  baptism,  the  becoming 
inclosed  iu  the  body,  whether,  as  they  sometimes  speak, 
the  soul  enters  the  body,  or,  as  at  other  times,  the  matter 
concretes  around  the  soul"  (p.  362). 

(5.)  All  these  baptisms  are  marked  by  powerful  influ- 
ence.    Dipping  is  unknown  to  them. 


266  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


INTUSPOSITION    FOR   INFLUENCE. 

1.  Ba--i%a}v  aoTO'j  d-i/.TS'.vsv.    .  .          .     jEsop,  Ape  and  Dolph. 

2.  Kai  l3dKTc!^scy  rd  ayytia.         ..."       MuU. 

3.  Is  TLbimai  -o^Too  ^a-ri'^cjv,  oXiffto.  .      AlcibiadcS  Oil  Eupolis. 

4.  KovTov  uu'j  elq  TO  udwp  [ia-zC'l.ouni.  .     Aclulles  Tatius,  ii,  14. 

5.  Da-Zi^effOat  rov  acSrjpov  xazd  rod  (Tcbjiaroq.         "  "         iii,  21. 

6.  Kai  y.oil-qv  [iaizziaa.'  xai  -lyiddiiz'^oq  udaro'.        "  "         iv,  18. 

7.  'TTz'doToo  zau-).rj6uu^TU)v  zw-iov  lja--t(Th{7].  I)ion  CaSSVUS,      L.  18. 

8.  Tpu)6ivzov  uv  G(pic!i  zojy  ffxaoaJv  ij3a-zc!^ovzo.      "  "  1/.  32. 

9.  Ka)  Tzizpatq  xa}  fj.rj^a>ijp.a(Tt  [ia-ziXovzeq.  "  "  1j.  32. 

10.  UawfisvoL  6-0  zujy  ivavzicov  k^ia-ziZoyzo.  "  "  1/.  35. 

11.  Tubq  8k  etq  zyjV  Xc/ivrjV  .  .  .  jSa-zi^ovziov.  IleliodorUS,  ^th.,  i,  30. 

12.  Acd  ystpwv  zov  Ilspatbv  azu)Mv  /Sarr^'^ovra.  IleimcriuS,  X,  2. 

13.  Kai  l^a-zt'Csiv  -KaXtv  iq  yd?M  yovauoq.       .  IlippocrateS,  ii,  710. 

14.  ''QMv  xai  zuuzov  im  xs<pa?.ijv  [iaTiziW^za.  Lucian,   Timon,  44. 

15.  IJuXiaq  iii^d-ziaov  oXixtj.       .         .         .  Nicander,  Geo.,  ii. 

16.  '0  (PO.tTZTtoq  fii-(pi  zoaouzou  diajSa-zt^oriv^O'^.  PolyOillUS,  iv,  2,  6. 

17.  ^Op6dq  l-\  Tpbirmv  l^dr.zi^ov.        .        .     Plutarch,  Marcell.,  XV. 

18.  KaXu)z  iauzdv  ISa~ziXwv  elq  zijv  Kaiizdida  XlpyTjV.    "        Gryllus,  vii. 

19.  Kac  eiq  zu  dcpa  zr^v  yz'ipa  ^a-zi(Taq.  Plutarch,  Par.  Gr.  &Rovi.,  iii. 

20.  Kai  r:uUd  zwv  cxafcuv  i^jd-zi^ov.    .  .   Pohjhius,  Illst.,  \,  51,  6. 

21.  Ba7:zi!^uiieva,  TzXrjpy]  6aXdzzrjq  lyiy^tzo.     .  "  "     viJi,  8,  4. 

22.  BaTCZi^ofiivTjv  UT^b  veujq  izoXeiiiaq.    .  .  u  u     xvi,  6,  2. 

23.  IJepc-rjzzzzat  paSiwq  zo  odwp  7:avz\  zu  fia-^zcaH^zi. 

Strabo,  xii,  5,  4. 

24.  '£v  zoj  TzXuj  ov  xa\  ^aTzziaai  a/xetvov  rjv.     .      Themistius,  Orut.,  iv. 


BAPTISM  FOR  INFLUENCE.  267 


BAPTISM  FOR  INFLUENCE. 

1.  And  the  dolphin,  displeased  at  such  a  falsehood  mersing, 

killed  him ^sop. 

2.  Always,  passing  through  the  river,  he  let  himself  down 

and  mersed  the  panniers.  .         .  uEsop. 

3.  But  I,  mersing  you  by  sea-waves,  will  destroy  with  bitterer 

billows Alcibiades. 

4.  They  merse,  therefore,  a  pole  into  the  vf ater.    Achil.  Tat. 

5.  They  think  that  the  sword  is  mersed  down  the  body. 

Achil.  Tat. 

6.  Mersing  and  filling  it,  hollowed,  of  water.  "         '= 

7.  Would  be  mersed  by  the  very  multitude  of  the  rowers. 

Dion  Cassius. 

8.  Their  vessels,  being  pierced  by  them,  were  mersed. 

Dioti  Cassius. 

9.  Mersing  them  both  by  stones  and  engines.         "  " 

10.  Struck  by  the  enemj'-  they  were  mersed.  "  ' 

11.  Mersing  ....  others  into  the  lake.        .         Heliodorus. 

12.  Mersing  with  his  hands  the  fleet  of  the  Persians. 

Heimerius. 

13.  Merse  it  again  into  woman's  milk.  .        Hippocrates. 

14.  Thrust  such  a  one  upon  the  head,  mersing  him.     Lucian. 

15.  Many,  merse-in  strong  brine.  .         .         Nicander. 

16.  Philip  was  so  long  thorough-mersing.     .         Polycenus. 

17.  Lifting  up,  by  the  prow,  erect  upon  the  stern,  they  mersed 

them Plutarch. 

18.  Nobly  mersing  himself  into  the  lake  Copais.       " 

19.  Mersing  his  hand  into  the  blood.     .         .  " 

20.  They  mersed  many  of  the  vessels.  .         Polyhius. 

21.  Mersed,  they  became  full  of  the  sea.       .  " 

22.  Mersed  by  a  hostile  vessel.       ...  " 

23.  The  water  is  incrusted  so  easily  about  everything  mersed 

into  it Strabo. 

24.  One  saved  in  the  voyage  whom  it  were  better  to  merse. 

Themistius. 


2G3  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


PAKTICULAK  CASES  EXAMINED. 
DROWNING   BAPTISM. 

I.  "  And  the  dolphin,  displeased  at  such  a  falsehood, 
mersing,  killed  him."  JEsop. 

3.  "But,  mersing  you  by  sea-waves,  I  will  destroy  you 
by  bitterer  billows."  Alcibiades. 

10.  "  Struck  by  the  enemy,  were  mersed." 

Dion  Cassius. 

II.  "  Mersing  others  into  the  lake."  Heliodorus. 
14.  "  Thrust  such  a  one  upon  the  head,  mersing  him." 

LUCIAN. 

18.  "  Nobly  mersing  himself  into  the  lake  Copais." 

Plutarch. 

24.  "  One  saved  in  the  voyage,  whom  it  were  better  to 
merse."  Themistius. 

(1.)  These  are  cases  of  drowning.  The  drowning  was 
by  mersion,  and  was  the  influence  designed  to  be  secured 
over  the  mersed  objects. 

Mersion  does  not  necessarily  drown,  because  something 
may  intervene  to  arrest  this  consummation;  but  where  there 
is  no  such  intervention,  all  living  animals  are  drowned  by 
mersion. 

(2.)  In  many  of  these  cases  the  mersed  object  was  al- 
ready in  the  water,  and  only  the  head  remaining  above; 
yet  the  putting  under  the  head  merely,  causing  death,  is 
called  mersion  (baptism)  of  the  person. 

This  is  of  interest  to  those  who  claim  to  baptize  by 
walking  into  the  water  and  then  dipping  the  head.  Dip- 
fing  the  head  would  have  been  quite  another  affair  to  the 
ape,  or  to  Eupolis,  from  the  baptism  which  they  are  re- 
ported to  have  received. 


VARIOUS   INFLUENCES.  269 

(3.)  PaTTToj,  tbif/0,  dip,  are  never  used  to  express  any  case 
of  drowning.  Their  power  and  nature  unfit  them  for  any 
such  use. 

(4.)  "  The  act  of  haptism,"  as  a  uniform  modal  act,  has 
no  shadow  of  existence.  The  form  of  the  act,  through 
which  the  mersion  is  secured,  does  not  enter  into  the 
meaning  of  the  word.  Such  acts  are  multitudinous  and 
endlessly  diverse. 

(5.)  We  see  from  such  usage  how  readily  /Ja-rctw  might 
(does?)  advance,  from  the  idea  of  mersion,  to  express  di- 
rectly that  of  drowning. 

In  such  use  as  in  24, — "  the  pilot  does  not  know  w^hether 
he  saves  in  the  voyage  one  whom  it  were  better  to  merse," 
— we  are  shut  up  to  the  meaning,  to  drown. 

VARIOUS    INFLUENCES. 
SATURATION,    INCRUSTATION,   ETC. 

2.  "  Always,  passing  through  the  river,  he  let  himself 
down  and  mersed  the  panniers."  ^sop. 

4.  "  They  merse  a  pole  into  the  water  prepared  with 
pitch."  AcHiL.  Tat. 

6.  "  He  lets  down  his  hand  into  the  water,  and  mersing 
and  filling  it,  hollowed,  with  water,  darts  the  drink  to- 
wards his  mouth,  and  hits  the  mark,"  Achil.  Tat. 

18.  "  Then  dipping  into  oil,  rose  or  Egyptian,  apply  it 
through  the  day,  and,  as  soon  as  it  stings,  take  it  away, 
and  merse  it,  again,  into  woman's  milk."       Hippocrates. 

15.  "  Merse  many  in  strong  brine,  after  dipping  in  boil- 
ing water."  Nicander. 

16.  "  Philip  was  so  long  thorough-mersing  with  the 
Pancratiast  and  sprinkling  the  face,  that  he  did  not  give 
up,  until  the  soldiers,  wearied,  scattered."     Poly^nus. 


270  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

19.  "  He  gathered  the  shields  of  the  slain  foe,  and, 
having  mersed  his  hand  into  the  blood,  he  reared  a  trophy 
and  wrote  upon  it."  Plutarch. 

23.  "  The  water  is  incrusted  so  easily  about  everything 
mersed  into  it,  that  they  draw  up  crowns  of  salt,  when 
they  let  down  a  rush  circle."  Strabo. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  minutely  into  each  case. 
Some  of  the  more  important  features  will  be  noticed. 

(1.)  Translation. — Dr.  Conant  translates  "  2."  "  im- 
merse;" "  4."  "plunge;"  "6."  "  dip."  Why,  this  varying 
translation  is  inexplicable  either  on  the  merits  of  the  case 
or  on  Baptist  principles.  The  word  remains  the  same  in 
every  case,  while  the  translation  is  different  in  every  case. 
Baptists  say  there  is  but  one  meaning  to  the  word  through- 
out the  entire  Greek  language;  while  here,  in  three  pas- 
sages, we  have  three  distinct  meanings. 

Dip,  plunge,  and  immerse  differ,  essentially,  in  mean- 
ing, and  cannot  possibly  be,  true,  critical,  translations  of 
the  same  word. 

Besides,  in  two  of  these  passages  (2  and  6),  the  act  of 
baptism  is  expressly  stated.  In  the  first  by  vtpiivat,  in  the 
second  by  xaSrjxs;  neither  of  which,  distinctively,  means 
to  immerse,  to  plunge,  or  to  dip ;  as  neither  of  them  is 
capable  of  expounding  /SaTrn'^w,  although  capable,  in  par- 
ticular eases,  to  answer  its  demands.  Whenever  the  trans- 
lator represents  the  Greek  word  by  a  modal  act,  it  is, 
always,  of  his  own  will,  and  without  warrant  from  fia-rC^u). 

(2.)  Dip.— Passages  marked  6,  13,  16,  19,  afford  alto- 
gether the  best  foundation  on  which  Baptist  writers  can 
stand  to  make  a  plea  for  their  d'cp.  Besides  these  pas- 
sages, there  are  but  three  others  (out  of  more  than  one 
hundred)  which  Dr.  Conant  translates  by  dqj.  That  any 
Baptist  writer,  thoroughly  committed  to  dipping,  should 
he  unable  to  introduce  the  word,  on  which  his  system 
hangs,  in  more  than  one  passage  in  twenty,  is  a  fact  which, 


VARIOUS   INFLUENCES.  271 

of  itself,  throws  the  gravest  doubt  about  the  justness  of 
such  transLation  in  any  case. 

Of  the  three  passages  (not  given  here,  they  will  be  here- 
after) which  are  translated  by  dip,  one  is  stated  with  the 
acknowledgment,  that  such  translation  is  embarrassed  by 
the  construction;  another  is  accompanied  with  a  doubt  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  transaction;  and,  the  third  makes  the 
dipping  take  place  in  an  element,  represented  by  the  dative 
without  a  preposition,  contrary  to  current  usage. 

In  the  first  of  the  above  cases,  dip,  clearly,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  jSanri^a).  You  might  as  well  translate  -k-qmiivjoq 
by  dip  as  pja^riaaz.  They  both  exhibit  results,  and  not  acts, 
consequent  on  the  act  expressed  by  the  phrase,  rr}v  5s  x-'^pa- 
if?  TO  o8u}p  xaiy^xt.  If  dip  could  be  introduced,  anywhere,  it 
must  be  as  a  subsiitute  for  xa6?^-/.e.  This  is  the  only  word  ex- 
pressive of  the  act  done,  and  this  was  the  act  of  bajDtism 
and  of  filling.  But  dip,  and  "let  down,"  are  forms  of  act 
which  work  themselves  out  very  diversely.  They  do  so 
here.  It  is  one  thing  "to  let  the  hand  down  into  the 
water"  for  the  sake  of  "  mersing  and  fiUing  it,"  and,  after- 
ward, "  darting  the  water  thus  secured  into  the  mouth;" 
and,  it  is  another  thing  to  dip  the  hand  into  water.  The 
process  of  letting  down,  mersing,  filling,  darting,  may  be 
a  very  rapid  one,  and  a  little  complicated,  and  some  may 
think  that  dip  may,  as  well  as  not,  be  thrown  in,  some- 
where; but  the  short  answer  to  this  is,  Plutarch  did  not 
think  so.  When  he  put  fiar.-itu}  there,  he  selected  a  word 
which  can  never  be  displaced  by  /Sr/n-rw,  without  Greek 
usage  uttering  an  indignant  protest,  from  a  hundred 
mouths,  against  such  violation  of  her  sovereignty. 

To  introduce  dip,  as  representing  /3a;:r£tw,  is  out  of  all 
question.  To  introduce  it  as  expressive  of  the  act  by 
which  the  baptism  is  effected,  and  as  much  disconnected 
from  it  as  xaOTjy.e^  is,  equally,  inadmissible. 

These  words  are  separated  by  the  Greeks,  in  their  vo- 
cabulary, and  that  separation  is  maintained,  I  confidently 
believe,  throughout  all  Greek  usage.  To  say  that  /Sa-rj'Cw 
may  be  controlled  by  ^dmuj,  and  that  a  baptism  may  be 


272  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

prodnccd  by  a  bapting,  is  to  say  wbat  the  language  will 
be  searched,  in  vain,  to  sustain. 

There  is  a  sort  of  mcrsion  connected  with  the  modal  act 
to  dip,  full  of  limitations,  which,  because  of  this  vavy  quasi 
character^is  unfitted  to  represent  the  true  and  unlimited 
mersion  of  the  Greeks.  Dipping-mersion  belongs  to  itself; 
has  a  mission  and  history  of  its  own ;  and  never,  in  the 
bands  of  a  Greek,  intermeddles  with  the  mersion  of  intus- 
position  and  controlling  influence.  The  accidental  accord 
between  a  dipping  and  an  intusposition,  in  rare  instances, 
in  brevity  of  duration,  will  never  be  made  the  ground,  by 
any  thoughtful  person,  of  their  confusion  or  their  inter- 
change. 

It  sliould,  also,  be  observed,  that  the  introduction  of  an 
act,  effecting  baptism,  into  the  office  of  a  representative  of 
/SaTTTtTw,  is  a  liberty  which,  while  Baptists  indulge  in  most 
licentiously  so  far  as  comports  with  their  own  views,  they 
will  not  tolerate  in  contradiction  of  their  views. 

Dr.  Fuller  will  not  accept  the  act  overflow  (which  con- 
fessedly eifects  the  baptism),  in  the  case  of  the  sea-coast. 
Then,  "  my  position  is,"  it  expresses  no  form  of  act  at  all, 
but  only  "  immerse."  "When  he  admits  that  pour  is  an  act 
competent  to  effect  a  baptism  in  the  baptistery,  he  smiles 
at  the  witlessness  which  can  confound  the  act  inducing  the 
baptism  with  the  resultant,  covered  condition,  in  which, 
only,  the  baptism  is  to  be  found.  But  when  he  feels  com- 
pelled to  admit  that  an  object  is  declared,  by  a  Greek 
writer,  to  be  baptized,  on  ichich  ivaier  had  been  poured,  with- 
out its  lying  in  a  baptistery,  and  without  its  being  covered, 
then,  baptize  means — what,  pour?  By  no  manner  of 
means.  The  act  must  not  be  put  for  the  resultant  condi- 
tion. "Immerse,"  is  it?  AYhy,  no.  Unfortunately,  there 
was  no  immersion  effected;  but  the  object  was  made  very 
wet!  And  cannot  a  child  understand  that  par.ri'^u)  is  here 
used,  by  a  tine  stroke  of  rhetoric,  to  mean  "to  drench"? 
Perhaps  so;  at  least,  if  he  do  not,  he  lacks  Dr.  Fuller's 
facility  in  changing  "position,"  and  coolness,  under  em- 
barrassing circumstances,  in  finding   an  acconmiodating 


VARIOUS   INFLUENCES.  £73 

interpretation.  Baptist  writers  should  renienibor  that 
within  the  domain  of  philology  there  is  an  equality  of 
rights. 

Carson  translates  and  comments  on  the  passage  marked 
"  13,"  thus:  "Dip  it  again;  the  iirst  dipping  is  expressed 
by  ftd4'aq.  This  shows  that,  in  the  radical  signiiication  of 
dipping,  these  words  are  perfectly  of  the  same  import." 

If  such  argumentation  had  been  addressed  to  Dr.  Car- 
son, by  an  opponent,  he  would  have  met  it  with  that 
peculiar  treatment  which  his  eulogist  delicately  terms — 
"  Attic  salt." 

The  reasoning  assumes  that  /Ja-rw  and  ^a-ziZu)  are  of 
"perfectly  the  same  import."  The  assumption  is  ground- 
less, and  the  argument  based  upon  it  falls.  Had  it  been 
said,  "  dip  it  in  oil  and  then  soak  it  in  milk,"  what  would 
have  been  tliought  of  the  reasoning  which  would  make 
dip  and  soak  "  of  perfectly  the  same  import'' ?  Are  they 
not  words  of  contrasted  intensity,  rather  than  of  agree- 
ment? Dip  expresses  an  act  introducing  its  object  mo- 
mentarily into  "the  oil;"  soak  expresses  no  form  of  act, 
but  brings  its  object  under  the  unlimited  inlluence  of  "  the 
milk."  Such  is  the  distinction  between  the  Greek  words. 
Their  use  by  Hippocrates,  instead  of  proving  that  both 
have  the  same  power,  proves  the  reverse.  When  the 
feebleness  of  [id-rw  has  failed  to  mollify  the  application 
sufSciently,  then  the  greater  power  of  (iaTzri'^u}  is  to  bo  re- 
sorted to.  The  same  conclusion  is  established  by  the 
contrasted  use  of  these  words  in  the  Epigram  on  Enpolis: 
"  You  have  bapied  (whether  washed,  dyed,  dipped,  or  any 
other  possible  thing)  me;  but  I  will  baptize  (killing)  3'ou." 
"  Any  child  can  see"  that  the  latter  word  is  used  because 
it  has  a  power  which  whelms  the  former. 

The  same  contrast  is  developed  in  quotation  "  15."  To 
make  a  pickle  the  article  is  first  tO'  be  '•'■dippal  in  boiling 
water,"  and  then  to  be  "  baptized  in  strong  brine."  The 
sea-coast  baptism  is  not  better  understood  than  is  this 
domestic  process.  The  "dipping"  is'not  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  the  full  influence  of  the  boiling  water,  but  the 

18 


274  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

reverse;  wliilo  the  baptism  into  the  brine  is  to  secure  its 
full  power,  Hippocrates  affords  no  countenance  to  the 
theory  which  would  confound  these  -words. 

In  "  16,"  ^aizziZoi  is  evidently  used  because  a  dipping 
could  not  express  the  idea.  The  point  of  the  contest  was 
to  vanquish  an  opponent  by  depriving  liim  of  the  power  of 
breathing,  whether  the  water  was  thrown  into  the  face, 
or  whether  the  head  was  held  under  water.  The  van- 
quished, on  yielding,  was  released  by  his  opponent  from 
farther  assault.  This  is  quite  a  different  affair  from  a 
simple  dipping.  Hippocrates  speaks  of  the  effect  upon 
the  breathing  when  one  has  been  kept  under  water  some 
time — y.ai  av£-v££v  w?  t/.  l3a,3a-zi(jSai — brcafJics  ((S  one  out  of  a 
state  ofviersion.  Such  a  passage  ought  to  be  suiScient  to 
show  tliat  a  bapting  and  a  baptism,  even  when  they  are 
brought  into  the  nearest  possible  contact,  are  two  very 
different  things.  The  breathing  is  not  affected  by  a  dip- 
ping; it  may  be  to  any  extent  by  a  baptism.  Therefore, 
Hippocrates,  like  a  true  Greek,  rejects  i3d-Tuj  and  employs 

The  passage  marked  "  19"  is  the  last  which  makes  spe- 
cial claim  to  a  dipping,  and  no  passage  makes  it  with  more 
plausible,  though  superficial,  pretensions.  A  Eoman  sol- 
dier, wounded,  is  left  on  the  battle-field,  who  spends  his 
failing  strength  in  gathering  the  armor  of  his  slain  ene- 
mies to  erect  a  trophy.  In  order  that  he  may  write  an 
explanatory  and  dedicatory  inscription,  "he  merses  his 
hand  into  the  blood."  It  is  claimed,  that  baptize,  merse, 
in  this  statement,  means  "to  dip." 

Wo.  ask  for  the  grounds  on  which  such  claim  rests.  Is 
it  the  current  usage  of  the  word?  We  reply,  there  is  no 
such  usage  as  requires  or  warrants  any  such  meaning.  If 
anything  in  language  can  be  proved,  it  has  been  proved 
that  [ia-ri'^oj  does  not  express  any  definite  form  of  act,  and, 
therefore,  does  not  express  the  definite  act  to  dip. 

Is  it  said :  This  particular  passage  requires  this  mean- 
ing. I  answer:  Such  declaration  is  founded  in  error. 
But  if  any  act  of  dipping  were  present,  such  act  could 


VARIOUS   INFLUENCES.  275 

not  be  made  the  utterance  of  this  word  any  more  than  the 
act  of  overflowing,  pouring,  sinking,  walking,  and  a  score 
of  others,  present  in  other  cases  of  baptism.  But  there  is 
no  necessity  for  its  presence.  The  hand  may  be  intro- 
duced into  a  pool  of  blood  in  other  ways  than  by  a  dipping. 
Tlie  idea  of  a  dipping  is  facilitated  by  the  mention  of 
writing,  as  though  the  statement  were  the  same  with  dip- 
ping a  pen  in  ink  to  w^rite  with  it.  A  closer  examination 
of  the  phraseology  will  show  that  such  idea  is  not  well 
founded.  It  is  said,  "  the  lurnd  was  mersed  into  blood." 
Kow  this,  according  to  Baptist  views  (substantially,  if  not 
absolutely  correct),  requires  that  the  entire  hand  should  be 
covered  in  blood;  but  we  cannot  write  with  the  entire 
hand,  and  it  is  simply  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  whole 
hand  was  covered  in  blood  for  the  purpose  of  writing 
with  the  finger's  point.  The  attempt  to  ally  this  phra- 
seology with  pen-dipping,  therefore,  falls  to  the  ground. 
It  is  not  said  that  he  wrote  with  the  same  hand  that  was 
mersed.  Indeed  it  is  quite  possible,  not  to  say  probable, 
that  the  blood  was  taken  up  in  the  mersed  hand,  and  from 
it  the  blood  was  taken,  by  dipping  the  finger  of  the  other 
hand  into  it,  and,  thus,  writing  the  inscription.  If  the 
statement  were  made,  "  lie  scooped  up  blood  with  his 
hand  and  wrote  with  it;"  would  "scoop"  mean  to  dip? 
If  it  were  said,  "  He  buried  his  hand  into  the  blood  and 
wrote  with  it;"  would  bury  mean  to  dip?  It  is  as  inde- 
fensible to  convert  baptize  into  dip,  as  it  is  to  convert 
bury  into  dip. 

If  an}'  Baptist  writer  thinks  that  to  dip  would  answer, 
in  such  case,  just  as  well  as  to  merse,  that  is  a  matter  to 
be  settled  with  Plutarch.  I  do  not  pretend  to  correct  or 
to  rewrite  (in  imagined  equivalent  phrases)  this  old  Greek; 
but  merely  to  interpret  what  he  has  written.  And  he  has 
written  that  the  hand  was  mersed  and  not  dipped,  baptized 
and  not  bapted.     I  presume  it  will  have  to  stand  so. 

All  the  passages  most  favorable  to  dipping  have  now 
been  examined,  and  I  very  cheerfully  submit,  whether  the 
result  is  such  as  should  overturn  that  meaning  so  well 


276  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

established  "  through  all  Greek  literatiiye,"'  and  sustained 
by  correspondent  usage  in  other  languages. 


"  5."  "  But  they  who  look  on  think  the  sword  to  he 
raersed  down  the  body,  but  it  runs  up  into  the  hollow  of 
the  handle,"  Achilles  Tatius. 

"  Plunged  "  ( Conant)^  This  is  another  example  of  a  sub- 
stitutionary translation.  This  introduction  of  definite  acts 
to  displace  jiaTzn^o}  is  a  mere  matter  of  will  or  imagination 
on  the  part  of  the  translator.  It  is  not  in  the  text.  A 
description  is  given  of  a  juggler's  trick.  In  the  first  mem- 
ber of  the  sentence  the  condition  of  the  sword,  supposed 
to  be  sheathed  in  the  body^  is  stated  without  expressing 
the  form  of  action  by  which  it  reaches  that  condition. 
In  the  latter  member  of  the  sentence,  the  mode  of  state 
ment  is  reversed.  The  form  of  action  is  given,  but  not 
the  condition  resultant  from  that  action. 

An  ellipsis,  in  both  members,  might  be  supplied  thus ; 
"  They  who  look  on  think  the  sword  to  be  mersed,  running 
down  into  the  body ;  but  it  is  mersed  running  up  into  the 
hollow  of  the  handle."  Or,  you  may  substitute  act  and 
condition  in  the  one  case  or  the  other — "  They  who  look 
on  think  the  sword  to  be  run  down  the  body;  but  it  is 
mersed  into  the  hollow  of  the  handle."  But  we  must  not 
give  substitution  for  translation,  whether  it  be  dip,  or 
plunge,  or  run  up,,  or  run  down. 

The  sword  is  not  influenced  by  mersion  into  the  body, 
but  the  body  is.  The  body  is  mersed  by  the  sword  run 
into  it,  just  as  Semele  was  mersed  by  the  thunderbolts  of 
Jove.  And  in  such  case  no  intusposition  exists,  real  or 
imaginary;  but  the  simple  and  direct  import  of  mersion, 
as  so  used,  is  that  of  death-producing  influence.  The 
intusposition  of  one  thing  within  another  is  equally  favor- 
able to  the  communication,,  as  well  as  the  reception  of 
influence. 


BAPTISM  OF  SHIPS.  277 


VESSELS   MERSEB   IN  ORDER   TO   THEIR    DESTRUCTION. 

"7."  "And  if  any  vessel  came  near,  liow  could  it  be 
that  it  would  not  be  mersed  by  the  very  multitude  of  the 
oars?"  Dion  Cassius. 

"  8."  "  If  they  succeeded,  they  came  off  the  better;  but 
if  they  failed,  their  own  vessels,  being  crushed,  were 
mersed."  Dion  Cassitjs. 

u  g"  u  'j^i^Q  others,  mersing  the  xittacking  ships  by 
stones  and  engines  from  above."  Dion  Cassitjs. 

"  12."  "  I  will  show  you,  also,  my  soldiers,  one  fighting, 
most  naturally,  even  in  a  painting;  and  another,  by  his 
hands,  mersing  the  fleet  of  the  Persians."     Dion  Cassitjs. 

"  17."  "  Some,  by  a  weight  fastened  above,  pressing 
down  they  sank  into  the  deep;  others,  by  iron  hands  or 
mouths  like  cranes,  drawing  up  by  the  prow,  upright  upon 
the  stern,  they  mersed."  Fltjtarch. 

ii  20,"  "  They  made  incessant  attacks,  and  mersed  many 
of  the  ships."  Poltbius, 

"  21."  "  But  the  most,  the  prow  being  let  drop  from  on 
high,  were  mersed,  and  became  full  of  the  sea  and  con- 
fusion." POLTBIUS. 

a  22."  "  Pierced  and  mersed  by  a  hostile  vessel." 

POLTBITJS. 

The  features  of  these  baptisms  are  too  obvious  to  call 
for  exposition.  The  act  effecting  the  baptism  is  widely 
various ;  the  farthest  possible  removed  from  dip.  The 
dative  without  a  preposition,  and  the  genitive,  express  the 
agency.  The  duration  of  the  baptism  has  no  limit.  The 
baptism  is  sought  for  its  destructive  influence.  The  ships 
were  baptized,  were  left  in  a  state  of  baptism,  and  have 
continued  in  it  for  two  thousand  years. 


278  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


INFLUENCE  WITH  RHETORICAL   FIGURE. 

1.  KatTot  yap  [JaTzriZojisvoq  otto  t^?  l-ilup.ia'Z  .  .  .  xaSaTtep  dk  ix  xufiaToq 

avixuTzre,  Xiywv Chariton  Aphrod.,  u,  4. 

2.  Acovuffioq  ds, .  .  .  xareilrj-rn  p.kv  vr^o  '/ttiiuJvoq  xai  rijv  (^'O^ijv  ^/Jarrc'^sro. 

Chariton  Aphrod.,  iii,  2. 

3.  TDmIov   .   .   .   idiou  ^ecfxaJvoq  yi/iov,  xa\  (ia-rcZo/J-evov  ^v  ya?.ij'^7]. 

Chariton  Aphrod.,  iii,  4. 

4.  OuSev  Twv  ^£i;ia^ofj.iv(ov  dtafipouffiv,  .  .  .  zav  apaii  xai  to  fipay^bxaxo'J 

G<paXu)(Ti,  TzavrtXwq  jdaTzrt^ovrai.        .     Dion  CaSS.,  XXXviii,  27. 

5.  Kai  avToq  ecfit  raJv  (ie^iaitnffixivwv  vizb  rod  [leydXou  xviiaroq,  Ixeivou. 

Libanixis,  JEpist.,  xxv. 

6.  'AjSaTtTiffTot;  slfit,  (psXXb^  ibq  unep  spxoq,  aXjiar;.      Pindar,  ii. 

INFLUENCE   COMPARED   TO   AN   OVERFLOWING    WAVE. 

1.  Then  appeared  the  conflict  of  reason  and  passion.     For, 

although  mersed  (baptized)  by  the  passion,  the  noble  man 
attempted  to  resist;  and  rose  up,  as  out  of  a  wave. 

Char.  Aph. 

2.  Eut  Dionysius  .  .  ,  was  seized  by  a  storm,  and  mersed  (bap- 

tized) as  to  his  soul ;  but  yet  he  strove  to  rise  above  the 
passion,  as  out  of  a  great  wave.         .         .      Char.  Aph. 

3.  I  saw  a  vessel  wandering  in  pleasant  weather,  full  of  its 

own  storm,  and  mersed  (baptized  )  in  a  calm.     Char.  Aph. 

4.  Carried  along  in  troubled  and  unsettled  affairs,  they  differ 

little  or  nothing  from  those  tempest  tossed;  and  should 
they  commit  an}',  even  the  least,  mistake  they  are  wholly 
mersed  (baptized) Dion  Cass. 

5.  And  I  am  of  those  mersed  (baptized)  by  that  great  wave. 

JJibanius. 

6.  I  am  unmersed  (un-baptized),  like  a  cork  upon  a  net,  of  the 

brine Pindar. 

(1.)  In  no  one  of  these  quotations  is  there  the  shadow 
of  a  dipping. 


FIGURE   WORN   OUT   BY   CONSTA:s^T    USE.  27^ 

(2.)  In  most  cases,  it  is  the  element  whicli  moves  to  reach 
its  object.     A  sea-wave  is  irresistible.     So  is  baptism, 

(3.)  The  point  of  the  figure,  in  no  case,  is  either  act  or 
covered  condition;  but  turns  whollj'  on  inlluence,  power- 
ful influence.  To  work  out  a  parallelism  beyond  this, 
would  speedily  carry  us  to  the  point  where  would  be 
practically  exemplified  the  truth,  that  "  there  is  but  one 
step  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous." 

FIGURE   WORN    OUT    BY    COXSTAXT    USE. 

These  passages  receive  vividness  and  force  from  rhe- 
torical embellishment.  For  this  purpose,  appeal  is  made 
to  those  physical  facts  which  give  origin  to  the  word  in  its 
literal  use,  and  which  serve  to  illuminate  its  tropical  use. 

The  number  of  such  passages  is  not  large.  Words 
which  pass  from  a  primary  to  a  secondary  use,  and  are  in 
daily  employ,  lay  aside  their  rhetorical  character,  and  be- 
come purely  prosaic  in  their  import.  The  secondary  mean- 
ing becomes  as  simple,  direct,  stripped  of  ornament,  and 
untigurative  as  in  the  primary  use.  A  designed  and  ob- 
vious rhetorical  use  of  words  (wdiich  have  been  turned 
aside  from  the  expression  of  physical  to  denote  logical 
relations),  in  ordinary  conversation  or  writing,  would  be 
eminently  ridiculous.  Words  which  are  simply  tropical, 
which  are  in  everyday  use  and  have  secured  a  well-defined 
meaning  of  their  own,  cannot,  with  any  propriety,  be 
termed  figurative.  They  are  as  truly  literal,  in  this  ac- 
quired secondary  use,  as  in  their  original,  primary,  and 
physical  application.     Observe  the  following  definitions. 

"  A  figure  of  language,  then,  I  define  to  be  a  distinguished 
mode  of  speech,  which  expresses  a  thought,  mostly  with 
some  additional  idea,  and  always  more  to  the  purpose  of  a 
writer  or  speaker  than  ordinary  language,  and  which  nat- 
urally results  from  a  state  of  mind  suitable  to  itself." 

Carson,  Lderp.  of  the  Sci-ip.  Figures  of  Speech. 

"  Simple   expression  just   makes   our   idea  known   to 


280  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

others;  but  Figurative  Language,  over  and  above,  bestows 
a  particular  dress  upon  that  idea ;  a  dress,  which  makes  it 
both  to  be  remarked  and  adorns  it.  .  .  .  No  language  is 
so  copious  as  to  have  a  separate  word  for  every  separate 
idea.  j\Icn  made  one  word,  which  they  had  already  ap- 
23ropriated  to  a  certain  idea  or  object,  stand  also  for  some 
other  idea  or  object;  between  which  and  the  primary  one 
they  found,  or- fancied,  some  relation.  Thus  the  prepo- 
sition in  was  invented  to  express  the  circumstance  of  place: 
'  The  man  was  killed  in  the  wood.'  In  progress  of  time, 
words  were  wanted  to  express  men's  being  connected  with 
certain  conditions  of  fortune,  or  certain  situations  of  mind; 
and  some  resemblance,  or  analogy,  being  fancied  between 
these  and  the  place  of  bodies,  the  word  in  was  employed 
to  express  men's  being  so  circumstanced;  as  one's  being 
in  health  or  in  sickness,  in  pi'osperity  or  in  adversity,  in 
joy  or  in  grief,  in  doubt  or  in  danger,  or  m  safety.  Here 
we  see  this  preposition  in  plainly  assuming  a  tropical  sig- 
nification, or  carried  olF  from  its  original  meaning^  to  signify 
something  else,  which  relates  to  or  resembles  it. 

"  Tropes  of  this  kind  abound  in  all  languages.  We  say, 
inflamed  by  anger,  icarmed  by  love,  swelled  with  pride,  melted 
into  grief;  and  these  are  almost  the  only  significant  words 

which  we  have  for  such  ideas In  every  language, 

too,  there  are  a  multitude  of  words,  which,  though  they 
were  figurative  in  their  first  application  to  certain  objects, 
yet,  hg  long  use,  lose  that  fgurcdivc  j^ower  -wholly,  and  come  to 
be  considered  as  simple  and  literal  expressions." 

Dr.  Blair,  Fig.  Lang.,  xiv. 

In  accord  with  this  last  statement.  Dr.  Carson  says: 
"Yery  many  of  the  words  of  every  language  have  re- 
ceived a  metaphorical  application;  hut  when  custom  has  as 
signed  this  as  their  appi'ojmaie  ineaning,  they  are  not  to  he  con- 
sidered as  figures  of  speech.  The  grammarian,  as  Dr.  Camp- 
bell observes,  will  find  many  metaphorieal  words  which 
will  not  be  recognized  as  such  by  the  rhetorician.  In 
explaining  the  word  enligJUcn,  for  instance,  the  grammarian 


FIGURE    WORN   OUT    BY   CONSTANT   USE.  281 

will  say,  that  it  signifies  to  instruct,  in  a  metaphorical 
sense,  from  the  resemblance  between  the  effects  of  light 
and  information.  But  this  term  being  as  much  appro- 
priated, now,  in  the  above  sense,  as  the  proper  term  itself, 
the  rhetorician  does  not  consider  it  as  belonging  to  his 

department."  rig.  of  Speech,  p.  278. 

"  A  figure  of  speech  is  a  certain  conformation  of  speech, 
removed  from  the  common  form,  and  that  which  first  presents 

itself."  qidntilUan. 

All  these  statements  and  definitions  justify  the  position, 
that  any  word  which,  in  secondary  use,  has  secured  a  well- 
defined  meaning  of  daily,  long-continued  use,  and  with 
great  breadth  of  application,  loses,  wholly,  its  figurative 
character,  and  must  be  considered  simple  and  literal  in  its 
expression. 

This  is  true,  in  all  respects,  of  /SarrnTw.  We  find  this 
word  used  through  a  thousand  years,  commonl}',  variedly, 
and  independently,  as  expressing  a  definite  meaning  of  its 
own,  clearly  growing  out  of,  yet  wholly  distinct  from,  its 
original,  primary,  physical  use. 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  this  Greek  word,  according 
to  Baptist  writers,  presents  a  figurative  use  as  frequently, 
if  not  more  frequently,  recurring  than  the  literal  use.  Is 
not  this  extraordinary  ?  But  this  fact  becomes  more  no- 
ticeable when  we  turn  to  fidTtrw,  and  find  scarcely  a  single 
instance  of  figurative  use  in  its  primary  meaning.  Can 
any  explanation  be  given  of  this  very  diverse  usage  of 
these  two  words,  which,  we  are  told,  are  of  entirely  the 
same  value?  There  is  an  explanation,  and  one  full  of 
meaning.  There  was  a  time  when  Baptist  writers  gave  as 
long  a  list  of  cases  of  the  figurative  use  of  /3a-Tw  as  they 
now  give  of  /3a-riCw.  How  has  that  great  cloud  of  figures 
been  dissipated?  Why,  by  the  admission  that  they  had 
made  a  mistake  in  denying  to  jSdrtroj  a  secondary  meaning; 
and,  thus,  had  been  compelled  to  resort  to  figure  to  ex- 
pound difficulties,  which,  even  by  all  the  help  of  figure, 
Carson  says,  and  says  most  justly,  were  "very  clumsily 


282  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

got  over."  This  history  is  repeating  itself.  By  denying 
a  secondary  use  to  /Sa-r/Cw,  a  necessity  has  been  induced 
for  resorting  to  figure  as  often  as  to  fact;  seeking  for  help 
to  get  over  difficulties,  which,  after  all,  are  not  got  over, 
and  the  failure  brings  out  the  clumsiness  of  the  attempt 
into  the  boldest  relief.  Wlien  ^a-riZu>  is  acknowledged  to 
have  a  secondary  use,  it  will  be  found  to  have  but  little 
more  figure  about  it  than  has  /3d7rrw. 

To  show  the  difference  between  figurative  and  simple 
statement,  Dr.  Blair  gives  the  following :  "  A  good  man 
enjoys  comfort  in  the  midst  of  adversity."  This,  he  says, 
"  expresses  thought  in  the  simplest  manner  possible." 
But  Baptist  writers  say  no ;  this  is  figure.  It  represents 
a  good  man  "  in  the  midst  of  a  tempest — adverse  winds,  ad- 
verse waves,  adverse  skies,  dark,  glittering  with  lightnings, 
and  shaking  with  thunderings,  in  all  which  he  has  peace 
and  comfort"!  Whither  has  simplicity  of  expression  fled? 
Again :  '"It  is  impossible,  by  any  search  we  can  make, 
to  explore  the  divine  nature  fully,'  is  to  make  a  simple 
proposition,"  says  Dr.  Blair.  Baptist  interpretation  says, 
not  so:  "Search,"  "explore,"  demonstrate  figure,  and  rep- 
resent the  divine  nature  as  a  dark  cavern,  whose  recesses 
are  not  fully  penetrable! 

Yet  again  :  "  The  simple  style  of  Scripture,  '  He  spake 
and  it  was  done;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast.'  "  But 
Dr.  Blair  is  sadly  at  fault  according  to  Baptist  interpreta- 
tion. This  is  not  the  sublimity  of  simplicity.  This  is 
highly  wrought  figure.  The  elements  of  chaos  are  rep- 
resented as  endued  with  intelligence,  hearing  and  obeying 
the  voice  of  Omnipotence! 

Remember  such  cases  when  confronted  by  figures,  con- 
jured up  by  our  Baptist  friends,  out  of  elements  less  pro- 
pitious than  those  furnished  by  either  of  the  above  cases. 
Almost  any  sentence,  of  the  most  purposed  simplicity,  may 
be  clothed  in  figurative  habiliments  until  no  longer  recog- 
nizable by  its  author. 

"We,  now,  come  to  consider  baptism  as  a  controlling  in- 
fluence, changing  condition,  without  any  mersion. 


SECONDARY    USE.  283 

CONTKOLLING  INFLUENCE— GENERAL. 

WITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION    IN   FACT   OR   IN   FIGURE. 

SECONDARY    USE. 

1.  ^ ExTzXy^aast  rijv  (I'UyTi^v xai  y.are^dTtriffe. 

Achilles  Tatius,  Leucippe  and  Clit.,  1.  3. 

2.  ToffouTuj  TT^sTJist  ^a-TttrSy^'^ac  xaxaJv.     "  "  "        iii,  10. 

3.  "^0  8k  TO)  6u;iu}  l3ej3anTt(Tfj.ivoc;  xaraduezat.  "  "       vi,  19. 

4.  ' E/xTTiKTuuaat  Si  al  TU^ac  ^aTzri^uoat  rjiidq.         "  "        viij  2. 

5.  Kai  aru-elov  iXacoj  (iaTtriaa'Z.       .  .        JEsop,  Man  and  Fox. 

6.  KarajSarcTiaSrjfferai  fjioc  TO  Zjjv.    .  .        Alciphron,  Upist.,  ii,  S. 

7.  To  rrXy^So^  rot)  otvoo.   .   .   .  xara^aT:Ti!^et. 

Alexander  Aphrodisias,  i,  16. 

8.  OuToc  ;j.ev  yap  iTriffravrat  zouruj  d'.a[ianTi'^eGOa:. 

Demosthenes,  Aristogeiton,  1.  5. 

9.  Mij  TtavreXax;  /Ji/SarTjff^aj  dXX'  dviy^zu.     Demetrius  Cydon.,  xiv,  4. 

10.  Tuh^  de  idiwrar:  .   ,   .  6u  ^aTTTi^ouffi  ral^  itacpopaiq. 

Biodorus  Siculus,  i,  73. 

11.  Kai  Tjy  (Tup.(p(ipa  ^t^aTriapho'^.      Heliodorus  ^thiopics,  ii,  3. 

12.  Miaat  vuxt£<;  unvoi  Trjv  ttoXcv  tjjdTTTd^ov.       "  "  iv,  17. 

13.  Mi)  ffupj3a~Tt^u);i$6a  ruj  zouroo  ~d6si.  "  "  iv,  20. 

14.  ^E-KBid-j  G£  rd  aupjSelSrjxora  ii3a-Ti!^ev,         "  "  v,  16. 

15.  ^EiSdTTTCffe  yap  SXrjv  txel  rrjv  Affiav  pa^opevoi;.      JTcimeriuS.,  XV,  3. 

16.  CO  av  evfu:;  iiSanri^^ero  rd  a<TTU.    .        Libanius,  Life. 

17.  '^H  laXaplq  Tisp)  ijv  zijv'AtTiav  i/idTtrcffag.       "         Declamat.,  XX. 

18.  'Ttto  pixpd^  av  l3anTiff6eiiQ  TrpoffSTJxrjq.  "         Epistle,  310. 

19.  '0  (3a7iTi!^6p.svov  eupujv  rov  aSXcnv  Aipiova.     "  "         962. 

20.  "H  XuTtrj  (SanTt^^oyffa  pkv  ttjV  (/'O'/tjv.  "         Emp.  Julian,  148. 

21.  To  8k  unoXeXstpp-ivov  oXiyov  ov  i^anrlZ^ro,    "  "  "        71. 

22.  BaTTTiZopivou  TOO  TTpdyparoq.  ,  "        Oration,  xliii. 

23.  Oux  ayecq  ff^oXijv,  dXXd  /SaTTT.-'Cjj.      •  "       Memorial. 

24.  Ba-KTieisi'z  Tj  v6(Toti;  rj  pdycjv  ri'/vacq.       Plotinus,  Ennead.,  1,  4,  9. 

25.  "Oti  root;  rapiai;  ^/Sa^rrjffev.       .       Plutarch,  Aristoph.  and  Men. 

26.  'Hpdi;  ^aTZTiZopivou^  uno  ru>v  -Kpaypdziuv.    "       SocrateS. 

27.  Ilevraxia^iXtiuv  pupid8wv  6(pXr^p.aai.  ^efiairriffpivm. 

Plutarch,  Galba,  xxi. 

28.  To'tq  8k  67t£p(3dXXou(Tt  ^amiZerat.       .         "         Education,  xiii. 

29.  Be^a-KTiapivo^  tzoXXoj  (ppudypart.         .        Proclus,  Chrestom.,  xvi. 

30.  BaTZTC^opevov  re  U7:d  r^?  68ovrji;,  xal.    .      Themistius,  Oration,  XX. 


284  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

CONTEOLLING  INFLUENCE— GENERAL. 
WITHOUT     MERSION,    IN     PACT    OR    IN     FIGURE. 

SECONDARY   USE. 

1.  Astounds  the  soul,  befalling  it  unawares,  and  de-mersed 

(de-baptized)  it Achilles  Tatius. 

2.  As  in  a  few  days  to  be  mersed  (baptized)  by  such  a  multi- 

tude of  evils Achilles  Tatius. 

3.  But  he,  mersed  (baptized)  by  anger,  sinks.         "  " 

4.  Misfortunes  befalling  merse  (baptize)  us.  "  " 

5.  And  mersing  (baptizing)  the  tow  with  oil.     ^sop. 

6.  My  life  will  be  de-mersed  (de-baptized).  .     Alciphron. 

7.  The  quantity  of  wine  de-merses  (de-baptizes)  the  physical 

and  vital  power Alex.  Aphrod. 

8.  For  these  know  how  to  thorough-merse  (thorough-baptize') 

with  him Demosthenes. 

9.  Not  wholly  mersed  (baptized),  but  bears  up.      Demetrius. 

10.  They  do  not  merse  (baptize)  the  people  by  taxes. 

Diod.  Sicul. 

11.  And  mersed  (baptized)  by  the  calamity.         .     Heliodorus. 

12.  "When  midnight  mersed  (baptized)  the  city  with  sleep. 

Heliodorus. 

13.  But  let  us  not  be  co-mersed  (co-baptized)  by  this  gi*ief  of  his. 

Heliodorus. 

14.  Because  the  events  still  mersed  (baptized)  you.  " 

15.  For  there  fighting  he  mersed  (baptized)  all  Asia. 

Heimerius. 

16.  By  which  the  city  would,  immediately,  have  been  mersed 

(baptized) Libanius. 

17.  Salamis,  where  thou  didst  merse  (baptize)  Asia.  " 

18.  Would  be  mersed  (baptized)  hj  a  small  addition.  " 

19.  Who  finding  the  unhappy  Simon  mersed  (baptized). 

Libanius. 

20.  Grief  mersing  (baptizing)  the  soul  and  darkening  the  judg- 

ment. .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .     Libanius. 

21.  But  the  remaining  part  being  small,  was   mersed  (bap- 

ized) Libanius. 

22.  But  now,  as  you  see,  the  duty  being  mersed  (baptized). 

Libanius. 


SECONDARY   USE.  285 

23.  You  have  no  spare  time,  but  are  mersed  (baptized). 

Libanius. 

24.  Mersed  (baptized)  either  by  diseases  or  arts  of  the  wizards. 

Plotinus. 

25.  Because  he  mersed  (iajD^i-ec?)  the  stewards.  .     Plutarch. 

26.  That  we,  mersed  (baptized)  by  the  affairs  of  life.     " 

27.  Mersed  (baptized)  by  debts  of  fifty  millions.  " 

28.  But  is  mersed  (baptized)  by  those  which  are  excessive 

Plutarch. 

29.  Mersed  (baptized)  with  much  wantonness.     .    Proclus. 

30.  Both  mersed  (baptized)  hj  grief     .         .        .    Themistius. 

Altliongli  a  word  may  have  attained  to  a  secondary 
meaning,  it  is  still  possible,  with  more  or  less  facility,  and 
with  more  or  less  apparent  fitness,  to  treat  it  merely  as. 
tropical,  and  refer  it  back  for  exposition  to  its  primary  use. 
Dr.  Carson  says  that  "  enlighten"  has  a  secondary  mean- 
ing. If  so,  it  should  be  expounded  directly  by  that  mean- 
ing, and  not  by  resorting,  every  time  it  is  encountered,  to 
the  roundabout  process  of  a  reference  to  light  and  its 
effects  in  revealing  the  true  position,  character,  worth, 
and  relation  of  things.  There  is,  however,  scarcely  any 
case  in  which  this  word  is  used,  but  that  any  one,  who 
chooses  to  deny  or  to  disregard  its  secondary  meaning, 
may  deny  its  acquired  rights,  and  make  out  a  case  (in  his- 
own  judgment  a  triumphant  case),  by  appealing  to  light, 
and  darkness,  and  mental  analogies.  Whether  such  per- 
sons can  be  better  answered  than  by  being  let  alone,  I  do 
not  know. 

If  in  those  cases  which  illustrate  the  secondary  mean- 
ing of /5a;rr:Cw,  many  of  them  can  be  robbed  of  their  simple 
statement  and  acquired  character  by  dressing  them  up, 
with  more  or  less  of  violence,  in  the  elements  of  fiirure, 
and  dipping,  or  plunging,  or  sinking,  or  overflowing  with 
water,  no  one  need  be  surprised.  The  same  can  be  done 
with  the  secondary  meaning  of  almost  any  word,  mutatis 
7nutandls.  This  was  done  through  long  years,  by  Baptists, 
with  the  secondary  meaning  of /5«;77w,  resolving  every  case 
of  dyeing.,  into  a  dipplmj.,  unmindful  of  the  havoc  they 


286  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

made  of  rhetoric  or  common  sense.  The  same  blind  per- 
sistency in  maintaining  an  erroneous  idea  is  shown  in  Dr. 
Carson  when  he  sets  up  the  astonishing  error,  that  "  iSaTznZui 
means  dip  and  nothing  but  dip,  expressing  mode  always;" 
and  then,  to  make  good  his  false  position,  brings  in  "cata- 
chresis"  io  dip  the  shore  by  the  flowing  tide,  and  the  land 
of  Egypt  by  the  overfiowing  of  the  Nile. 

This  position  of  Dr.  Carson  is  too  grossly  erroneous, 
and  its  defence  too  utterly  indefensible,  for  some  of  his 
admirers  longer  to  maintain ;  but  with  inconsistency^,  which ' 
has  not  yet  settled  down,  they  admit  variety  of  modal  ac- 
tion. They  refuse,  however,  with  one  voice,  still  to  admit 
any  secondary  meaning;  and  with  no  less  violence  to  the 
laws  of  language  development  than  in  the  case  of  /Jarrrw, 
turn  every  case  of  the  secondary  meaning  of  (jaTrnXu)  into  a 
dipping,  or  plunging,  or  sinking,  or  overflowing  w^ith  water. 

SECONDAKY  MEANING. 

TO    EXERCISE   A   CONTROLLING    INFLUENCE    CHANGING 
CONDITION. 

1.  "For  what  is  sudden,  all  at  once  and  unexpected, 
astounds  the  soul,  falling  on  it  unawares,  and  de-merses  it." 

Achilles  Tatius. 

What  is  there,  on  the  face  of  this  statement,  suggestive 
of  water  ?  Certainly,  dipping,  and  plunging,  and  sinking, 
are  out  of  all  question.  The  only  thing  that  could  be, 
with  any  consistency,  introduced,  here,  would  be  a  wave, 
and  from  that  Baptists  shrink,  because  it  moves  the  ele- 
ment and  not  the  object.  But  to  take  "  the  soul"  out  to 
sea,  and  then  conjure  up  a  wave  "suddenly,"  "all  at 
once,"  "unexpectedly,"  "to  fall  upon"  it,  is  a  piece  of 
extravagance  in  the  way  of  taste  which  will  commend 
itself  to  but  few.  How  simply,  clearly,  and  fully  is  the 
case  met  by  attaching  to  the  word  the  secondary  meaning, 
to  exercise  a  controlling  influence,  changing  the  condition. 

The  notion  that  the  soul  is  put  under  w^ater,  in  any  way, 


BAPTISM   BY  ANGER.  287 

or  intended  to  be  so  represented,  is  simply  absurd.     It  is 
influence  only  which  is  at  issue. 


2.  "What  crime  have  we  committed,  so  great,  as  in  a 
few  daj's,  to  be  mersed  by  such  a  multitude  of  evils?" 

Achilles  Tatitjs. 

It  would  require  some  ingenuity  to  work  up  "  a  few 
days,"  and  "a  multitude  of  evils,"  and  a  mersion,  so  as 
to  form  a  billow,  or  a  dipping,  out  of  them.  But  suppos- 
ing some  imagination  to  be  sufficiently  inventive  and  con- 
structive, better  save  it  for  a  better  purpose,  and  take, 
what  is  on  the  face  of  the  record,  the  exercise  of  a  controlling 
influence.  The  agency  is  expressed  by  the  dative  without 
a  preposition. 


3.  "But  he,  mersed  by  anger,  is  subdued;  and  wish- 
ing to  escape  into  his  own  domain  is  no  longer  free,  but  is 
forced  to  hate  the  object  loved."  Achilles  Tatitjs. 

"  Speaking  of  love,  contending  with  and  subdued  by 
anger,  in  the  same  bosom  "  ( Conant).  I  do  not  know  how 
"  love  and  anger"  are  to  be  got  into  the  water,  unless  it  be 
in  a  "  dipping  match  "  after  the  fashion  of  Philip  and  the 
Pancratiast.  But  this  will  hardly  answer;  for  love,  it  would 
seem,  is  kept  under  the  water,  unable  "to  escape."  A 
wave,  or  a  sinking  ship,  will  not  answer.  Until  a  better 
solution  is  found,  therefore,  we  will  accept,  what  every 
letter  of  the  passage  proclaims,  controlling  influence.  Anger 
exercises  a  controlling  influence  over  love;  holds  it  in  sub- 
jection; will  not  let  it  escape. 

The  agency  is  marked  by  the  simple  dative. 


4.  "Misfortunes  befalling  us  merse  us." 

Achilles  Tatius, 
I  take  this  to  be  a  very  direct  and  prosaic  statement 


288  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

announcing  the  homelj  truth — Misfortunes  exercise  a  con- 
trolling influence  over  us.  The  introduction  of  "falling" 
waves  or  wrecked  ship  going  to  the  bottom  is  a  freak  of 
the  imagination  not  to  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  Achilles 
Tatius.     So  Virgil — "  Mersed  by  these  evils." 


5.  "  And  mersing  the  tow  with  oil,  binding  it  to  her 
tail,  he  set  it  on  lire."  ^sop. 

This  is  told  of  a  fox  that  had  been  caught,  and  was  thus 
punished  for  mischief  done.  "  Dipping  tow  in  oil,"  is  Dr. 
Conant's  translation.     It  is  objectionable  : 

1.  Because  "  dipping"  is  no  translation  of  /Sa-ntw. 

2.  The  proper  form  for  expressing  the  element,  in  which, 
by  the  dative,  requires  the  preposition.  Its  use  may  not, 
necessarily,  indicate  the  element;  but  it  lays  the  burden 
of  proof,  to  the  contrary,  heavily,  on  the  objector. 

3.  In  every  clear  case,  where  the  inclosing  element  is 
associated  with  the  dative,  the  preposition,  by  itself  or  in 
composition  with  the  verb,  is  used. 

4.  The  dative,  without  the  preposition,  ordinarih%  in- 
dicates instrumentality.  It  does  so  in  all  clear  cases  (in 
common  with  the  genitive)  with  which  we  have  to  do.  If 
such  is  not  accepted  as  its  import,  in  any  particular  case, 
proof  to  the  contrary  must  be  adduced. 

5.  No  proof  can  be  found  in  /5a7rr;''w.  Once  this  word 
was  deemed  sufiicient  to  prove  this  point.  The  best  Bap- 
tist scholars  believe  this  no  longer.  Dr.  Fuller  escapes 
from  the  plunging  fire  of  facts  directed  against  the  old 
position,  confessing  that  any  mode,  "  pouring,"  will  an- 
swer, provided  ike  object  is  covered.  A  heavy  gun  is  turned 
against  this  new  position,  and  it,  too,  is  abandoned,  with 
the  admission  that  pour  will  answer,  even  if  it  does  not  coveVy 
provided  it  wets  very  thoroughly,  and  there  is  a  good  deal 


BAPTISM   OF   VITAL   POWER.  289 

of  water  all  around!    Dr.  Carson  is  very  indignant  at  either 
of  these  admissions.     Until  Baptist  doctors  come  to  some 
.  agreement  among  themselves  we  may  be  excused  from 
accepting  the  dogma  of  either  party. 

6.  It  is  beyond  all  rational  controversy  that  this  tow 
could  be  baptized  as  properly  by  pouring  oil  upon  it  as 
in  any  other  way.  Vessels  in  which  oil  is  kept  are  best 
adapted  for  pouring.  It  is  improbable  that  a  mass  of 
tow  would  be  mersed  in  a  large  vessel  of  oil.  AVe  claim 
that  tow  brought,  thoroughly,  under  the  influence  of  oil, 
in  any  way,  is  baptized,  saturated,  mersed,  of  changed 
condition. 

7.  The  translation  should  be,  mersing  the  tow  li'ith  oil ; 
the  dative  being  without  the  preposition. 


6.  "  If  I  purpose  to  see  all  the  rivers,  my  life  will  be 
demersed,  not  seeing  Glycera."  Alciphron. 

An  invitation  to  visit  Egypt,  and  see  "  the  beautiful 
Nile,"  was  declined,  on  the  ground  that  equal  reason 
might  be  urged  for  visiting  the  Euphrates,  the  Danube, 
the  Tigris,  &c.,  to  do  which  would  consume  his  life  and 
deprive  of  fellowship  with  Glycera.  Is  there  anything  in 
this  form  of  expression,  or  the  nature  of  the  sentiment, 
which  shadows  forth  water  and  a  dipping?  Is  there  not 
the  clearest  statement,  that  to  enter  upon  the  course  indi- 
cated would  exercise  a  controlling  influence  over  his  life? 


7.  "Why  do  many,  made  drunk  with  wine,  die?  Be- 
cause the  quantity  of  the  wine  de-merses  the  physical  and 
the  vital  power  and  warmth."         Alexander  Aphrodisias. 

Wine  drank  neither  dips,  plunges,  nor  sinks ;  not  even 
by  "  catachresis."     Kor  does  it,  in  this  case,  "cover"  by 

19 


290  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

pouring  down  the  throat;  for  it  is  a  physical  impossibility 
thus  to  cover  over  "the  physical  and  vital  power  and 
warmth."  For  another  reason.  If  wine,  as  a  fluid,  effects 
this  mischief,  then  as  much  water  would  do  the  same.  But 
this  is  not  true.  Therefore,  it  is  a  case  of  controlling  in- 
fluence; not  exerted  by  wine  as  a  fluid,  but  by  its  peculiar, 
influential  qualities  as  a  drink.  Life  is  mersed  by  it  on 
the  same  principle  that  the  life  of  Semele  w^as  "  mersed" 
by  the  thunderbolts  of  Jove.  Each  has  its  peculiar  power 
to  influence  controllingly,  changing  condition. 


8.  "  Not  the  speakers,  for  these  know  how  to  thor- 
ough-merse  with  him,  but  private  citizens  and  the  inex- 
perienced." Demosthenes. 

"  Showing  what  kind  of  persons  Aristogeiton  was  ac- 
customed to  harass  by  false  accusation  and  extortion.  In 
this  case  the  compound  word  is  used  metaphorically,  and 
the  sense  is :  For  these  know  how  to  match  him  in  foul 
language — in  the  game  of  sousing  one  another."  (Conant.) 
Supposing  this  use  to  be  derived  from  the  contest  in 
"  thorough-mersing,"  it  shows  the  very  varied  and  facile 
apphcation  of  the  word.  The  orator  employs  the  word  to 
show  the  mastery  which  practised  speakers  have  over 
their  opponents;  being  able  to  confound  them  by  their 
skill  and  power  in  the  use  of  language,  and  thus  bring 
them  under  their  controlling  influence. 


9.  "  For  the  soul  has  control  over  the  body,  and  enter- 
ing  into  it  is  not  v)holhj  mersed  by  it,  but  rises  above  it;  and 
the  body,  apart  from  her,  can  do  nothing."       Demetrius. 

"We  are,  certainly,  exempt  from  the  intrusion  of  water 
here.  And  we  are,  certainly,  brought  face  to  face  with 
controlling  influence.  Will  any  one  say,  the  soul  "enter- 
ing into  the  body" — i^haav  e'a;  auTd — is  not  "wholly  covered 
by  the  body  "  ?     This  would  be  a  very  nondescript  sort  of 


BAPTISM   OP  THE  SOUL.  291 

figure.  For  the  soul  "to  enter  the  body,  yet  not  be 
wholly"  under  the  controlling  injluence  "of  the  body,"  is  a 
very  intelligible  statement;  very  conformable  with  facts, 
and  very  much  like  what  the  wiiter  declares.  The  soul 
*'  controls  the  body,"  and  is  not  controlled  by  it. 


10.  "  On  account  of  the  abundant  revenue  from  these 
sources,  they  do  not  mcrse  the  people  with  taxes." 

DiODORUS   SiCULUS. 

The  following  exposition  is  given  by  Dr.  Carson :  "  In 
this  figure,  the  rulers  are  supposed  to  immerse  the  people 
through  the  instrumentality  of  oppressive  taxes.  Mr. 
Ewing  very  well  translates,  '  on  account  of  the  abundant 
supply  from  these  sources,  they  do  not  oppress  the  com- 
mon people  with  taxes.'  The  literal  translation  is:  'They 
do  not  immerse  the  common  people  with  taxes.'  The 
people,  in  the  case  of  oppressive  taxation,  are  not  supposed 
in  such  figures  either  to  have  the  taxes  poured  upon  them, 
nor  themselves  to  be  immersed  in  the  taxes;  but  to  sink  by 
beina:  weig-hed  down  with  taxes.  The  taxes  are  not  the 
element  in  which  they  si!ik,  but  are  the  instrumental  bap-" 
tizers.  They  cause  the  people  to  sink  by  their  weight. 
This  suits  the  words;  this  suits  the  figure;  this  suits  the 
sense  ;  this  suits  every  example  which  refers  to  debt;  this 
suits  the  analogy  of  all  other  languages.  We  say,  our- 
selves, dipped  in  debt,  drowned  in  debt,  sunk  by  debt,  or 
sunk  in  debt.  To  sink  in  debt  figures  the  debt  as  that 
in  which  we  sink.  It  is  a  deep  water  in  which  we  sink. 
To  sink  by  debt  figures  the  debt  as  a  load  on  our  shoulders, 
while  we  are  in  deep  water.  In  this  view,  it  is  not  the 
drowning  element,  but  the  baptizer  or  drowner.  To  be 
dipped  in  debt,  supposes  that  we  owe  something  consider- 
able in  proportion  to  our  means.  But  we  may  be  dipped 
without  being  drowned.  The  last  cannot  be  adequately 
represented  by  baptize  except  when  circumstances  render 
the  meanina:  definite." 


292  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

Tlii8  exposition  would  answer  better  as  the  basia  for  a 
caricature  in  the  "  London  Punch,"  than  as  a  simple  in- 
terpretation of  the  historian.  Is  it  to  be  imagined,  for  a 
moment,  that  Diodorus  means,  by  a  word,  to  touch  some 
secret  spring  in  the  imagination  of  his  readers,  whose 
movement  would  expose  to  their  view  the  land  of  the  Nile 
flooded,  tlu'ough  all  its  borders,  while  its  inhabitants  were 
seen,  with  packs  on  their  backs,  struggling  and  sinking 
in  deep  waters  ?  Is  this  the  import  of  the  phrase,  "  mersed 
by  taxes"'?  Dr.  Carson  commits  a  marvellous  error  in  the 
transmutation  of  mersion  bi/  taxes  into  such  a  water  scene. 
What  have  "taxes"  to  do  with  water,  shallow  or  deep? 
Do  taxes  dip  people,  or  sink  people,  or  drown  people,  in 
water?  "But  mersion  has  something  to  do  with  water." 
Mersion  had  something  to  do  with  water,  once;  but  when 
it  entered  into  fellowship  with  "  taxes"  it  came  to  live  on 
dry  land,  and  if  it  did  not  wholly  lay  aside  the  character 
of  a  baptizer,  it  certainly  did  bid  farewell  to  all  baptisms 
into  water.  If  any  one,  through  curiosity  or  any  other 
motive,  has  a  fancy  for  tracing  back  the  relations  of  this 
word,  after  passing  through  all  w^atery  depths,  they  can 
bring  back  nothing  germane  to  the  case  in  hand  but  the 
simple  idea  of  ruin.  Dipping,  plunging,  sinking  of  the 
Egyptians  in  water  is  pure  impertinence.  The  dipping, 
plunging,  or  sinking  of  anything  else  is  equally  so,  in  all 
respects,  save  only  as  to  the  one  point  of  destructive  influence. 
Hence  proceeds,  for  those  who  need  it,  a  flash  of  light 
which  illumines  the  passage.  But  the  passage  needs  no 
such  help.  It  is  self-luminous.  It  proclaims  with  its  own 
tongue  the  ruinous  character  of  excessive  taxation.  This 
inerses  not  into  water,  but  into  a  stinted  icardrobe,  into  a 
liinched  table,  into  the  scde  of  a  cow,  «  horse,  a  jjlour/h,  a  farm; 
into  unrequited  toil  and  bitter  jjcnury  !  If  the  historian  must 
be  made  to  write  in  figures,  this  is  his  figure, — heary  taxes 
merse  the  'people  into  fnancial  ruin.  But  he  uses  no  figure  at 
all.  He  employs  a  word  which  was  used  every  day  to  de- 
velop, in  the  fullest  measure,  the  influence  of  its  adjunct. 

Greek  literature  shows  this  secondary  use  and  meaning 


BAPTISM   BY   TAXES.  293 

to  be  as  true,  as  broad,  and  as  self-sustaining  as  is  the 
primary  use  and  meaning.     So  self-evidencing  is  this  use, 
that  if  every  primary  use  were  blotted  out  from  the  Greek 
language,  and  the  remembrance  of  its  existence  oblitera- 
ted from  the  minds  of  men,  still  this  secondary  use  would 
live  unharmed,  "having  life  within  itself,"  to  vindicate  its 
unborrowed  rights  and  claim  a  controlling  influ<nce  over 
its  objects.     Can  this  be  denied?     Can  this  be  admitted, 
and  a  secondary  sense  be  denied?     The  dative  is  without 
a  preposition.     Carson  rejects  the  translation  in  taxes  and 
adopts  bjj  taxes  without  any  reason  given,  and  Avithout 
any  capable  of  being  given  harmoniously  with  his  prin- 
ciples or  practice.      If   the   form   6u  ^a-riZouai  rai'-,   hfup'paiz 
dc^es  not,  of  itself,  determine  that  "  the  taxes  "  occupy  the 
position  of  agency,  whence  the  influence  proceeds  which 
efiects  tins  baptism,  then,  I  know  of  nothing  else  which 
can  confer  such  character  upon  it.    According  to  Carson's 
own  showing,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  "  taxes "  from 
occupying  the  position  of  eleme.nt  in   baptism.     He  says, 
sink  in  debt  and  sink  bj  debt  is  equally  proper;  and  as 
he,  here,  "surreptitiously"  introduces  sink  for  baptize,  of 
course,  it  is  equally  proper  to  say  baptize  in  taxes  or  bap- 
tize by  taxes.     But  it  is  by  no  means  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence whether  we  assign  to  the  dative,  thus  used,  the  office 
of  agency  or  of  element;  nor  is  it  reasonable  to  believe 
that  we  are  left,  at  will,  to  select  the  one  or  the  other;  yet 
this  must  be  so,  unless  the  form  of  the  phrase  is  taken  as 
an  authoritative  guide. 

The  translation  of  Dr.  Carson  is  right,  and  the  reason 
is,  the  grammatical  form,  and  the  elements  of  thought 
which  enter  into  it,  require  it.  The  mersion  is,  purely, 
one  of  influence,  and  the  source  whence  that  influence 
proceeds,  and  which  gives  character  to  the  mersion,  is 
stated.  This  completes  the  thought — mersion  by  taxes — 
such  controlling  influence  as  excessive  taxation  universally 
begets,  changing  the  condition  of  those  subject  to  it. 


294  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

11.  "  Cnemon,  perceiving  that  he  was  deeply  grieved 
and  mersed  by  the  calamity,  and  fearing  lest  he  may  do 
himself  some  injury,  removes  the  sword  privately." 

Heliodorus. 

Is  there  anything,  here,  suggestive  of  a  cold  bath  ?  Is 
tliere  not  the  clearest  statement  of  controlling  influence? 
Does  not  the  introduction  of  figure,  "  water  floods,  or 
inundations,  swollen  torrents,  or  shipwrecks,"  dislocate 
everything?  "Whelmed  6y  the  calamity"  (Co?ia??i).  Ca- 
lamity is  the  agency,  source  of  influence,  and  is  repre- 
sented by  the  simple  dative. 


12.  "  When  midnight  had  mersed  the  city  by  sleep." 

Heliodortts. 

When  midnight  had  j^^^f-nged  the  city  in  sleep  (Conani). 
An  object  may  be  physically  baptized  by  plunging;  but  to 
plunge  is  not  the  meaning  of  the  word.  Why  "  plunge" 
should  be  chosen  to  introduce  to  a  quiet  night's  rest  is 
hard  to  tell.  I  do  not  remember  ever  before  to  have  seen 
plunge  and  sleep' associated  together.  The  ideas  of  force 
and  violence  are  out  of  place.  Sometimes  it  is  said — "  he 
took  an  opiate  and  fell  into  a  sweet  sleep."  But  in  such 
case  to  suggest  that  figure  is,  here,  used,  and  the  sleeper 
is  represented  as  standing  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  or 
the  bank  of  a  river,  and  "falling"  thence  into  a  running 
stream,  is  too  irrational  even  to  be  laughed  at.  "To  fall," 
thus  used,  expresses,  merely  and  directly,  the  idea  oijiass- 
ing  qidcldg  from  a  state  of  wakefulness  into  a  state  of 
slumber.  "To  plunge  into  sleep,"  is  phraseology  difficult 
to  vindicate  under  any  circumstances,  and  cannot  be  vin- 
dicated, here,  either  as  the  translation  of  the  Greek  word, 
or  as  the  work  of  midnight.  The  probable  use  of  this 
word  was  to  secure  the  introduction  of  in.  "  Whelm  "  is 
the,  almost,  invariable  translation  of  the  many  passages 
which  Dr.  Conant  calls  figurative.  But  "whelmed  m" 
would  not  answer  well ;  neither  would  a  dipping  in  sleep 


MIDNIGHT   BAPTISM.  295 

answer;  therefore,  to  save  in,  the  rude  term  "phmge"  is 
adopted.  Bat  accordhig  to  Baptist  interpretation,  "  plunge 
in"  brings  up  a  Avater  scene.  Sleep  is  figured  as  a  flood 
large  enough  for  a  city  to  be  plunged  into  it.  Did  any 
poet  or  orator  ever  venture  to  state,  in  words,  any  such 
figure?  Rhyme  and  rhetoric  carry  license,  oftentimes, 
into  licentiousness;  but  I  do  not  remember  that  either 
has  ever  taken  the  liberty  of  putting  a  city  to  sleep,  figur- 
atively, by  plunging  it  into  water !  The  communication 
of  the  gentle  influence  of  sleep,  when  represented  by 
figure,  proceeds  on  a  wholly  different  basis. 

It  has  been  already  shown  that  "  Invadunt  urbem  vino 
somnoque  sepultam" — "  Expletus  dapibus  vinoque  sepul- 
tus" — "Rutuli  somno  vinoque  soluti" — as  well  as  "Sleeps 
in  Port" — have  nothing  to  do  with  graveyards,  dissolution 
of  the  body  m  sleep  and  wine  as  a  menstruum,  or  with 
the  inside  of  a  wine-cask  as  a  bedchamber;  but  that  the 
influence  of  wine  and  sleep,  only,  are  indicated. 

I  may  now  add  that  the  same  is  true  of  other  passages 
where  a  narrow  interpretation  would  much  more  plausibl}' 
find  water  : 

"  Unfit  he  was  for  any  worldly  thing, 
And  eke  unable  once  to  stirre  or  go; 
Not  meet  to  be  of  counsel  to  a  king, 

"Whose  mind  in  vieate  and  drinke  was  drowned  so  : 
Such  one  was  Gluttony."  Faerie  (^ueene^  p.  36. 

"  There  did  the  warlike  maid  herself  repose, 
Under  the  wings  of  Isis  all  that  night  ; 
And  with  sweet  rest  her  heavy  eyes  did  close, 

After  that  long  dales  toile  and  wearie  plight; 
Where  whilst  her  earthly  parts  with  soft  delight 
Of  senseless  sleepe  did  deeply  drowned  lie."' 

Faerie  Queene,  p.  505. 

To  represent  any  one  as  plunged  amid  "  jncals  and 
drinks"  for  the  sake  of  "drowning"  them,  is  a  kind  of 
figure  distinguished  neither  by  elegance  nor  congruity. 
It  is  but  little  better,  in  the  same  sentence,  to  make  one 
"  sleep  all  night  under  the  wings  of  Isis,"  and,  also,  lio 
"  drowned"  at  the  bottom  of  a  pool. 


296  CLASSIC  BAPTISM. 

Edmund  Spenser  is  not  responsible  for  tliese  beauties 
of  poesy.  He  uses  "  drown,"  sirnply,  to  give  strong  de- 
velopment to  the  influence  of  its  adjuncts,  without  any 
regard  to  cold  water,  just  as  Virgil  uses  "  buried,"  for  the 
same  purpose,  without  any  design  of  introducing  his 
readers  to  a  graveyard. 

That  sleep  is  not  a  vast  lake,  or  sea,  in  which  cities  may 
be  plunged,  is  farther  shown  by  its  distinct  representation 
as  an  CKjency^  and  by  the  methods  of  its  procurement. 

Ovid  says  :  "  Before  the  doors  of  the  dwelling  of  the 
God  Somnus  rich  poppies  grow,  and  countless  herbs,  from 
the  juice  of  which  humid  night  gathers  soporifics,  and 
sprinkles  {spargit)  them  over  the  darkened  earth." 

There  is  no  plunging  or  water-pool  here.  The  sprink- 
liiig  of  poppy-juice  upon  the  eyelid  is  suflicient  to  "  merse 
a  city  with  sleep,"  or  to  drown  the  darkened  earth  in  deep 
repose.  Elsewhere  he  speaks  of  sleep  as  agent  in  relaxing 
the  bodies  of  men,  homines  solverat  alta  quies.  He,  also, 
represents  it  as  an  agent,  bringing  Iris,  standing  in  the 
chamber  of  Somnus,  under  its  power :  "  She  could  no 
longer  endure  the  power  of  drowsiness;  and  as  she  felt 
sleep  to  glide  into  her  limbs  (labi  in  arius),  she  fled." 
Virgil  says:  "Venus  diflTuses  {irrigai)  gentle  sleep  through 
the  limbs  of  Ascanius." 

I  know  of  no  representation  of  sleep  -which  differs,  essen- 
tially, from  these  in  any  accredited  writer.  "  To  p/i«?r/e 
a  city  in  sleep  "  does  essentially  dift'er,  and,  I  must  think,  is 
both  an  error  of  translation  and  of  adaptation  to  the  fitness 
of  things.  Spenser  is  quite  in  harmony  with  these  classical 
writers  in  making  sleep  a  gentle  agency : 

"  And  then  by  it  his  wearie  linibes  dispUiy, 
Whiles  creeping  slomber  made  him  to  forget 
His  former  payne,  and  wypt  away  his  toilsome  sweat." 

Will  any  one  put  his  finger  on  "  creeping,"  and  cry  out, 
Figure !  Shall  we  be  treated  to  the  picture  of  an  animal 
stealthily  approaching  its  prey  with  a  collar  around  its 
nock  labelled— "Sleep"? 


SLEEP-BAPTISM.  297 

Spenser  thought  that  there  was  another  and  a  better 
method  for  putting  sleep  into  full  possession  of  its  object. 
He  thus  describes  it : 

"By  this  she  had  him  lulled  fast  asleepe, 

That  of  no  worldly  thing  lie  care  did  take; 

Then  she,  with  liquors  strong  his  eles  did  steepe, 

That  nothing  should  him  hastily  awake." 

I  have  dwelt  upon  this  passage,  and  endeavored  to  illus- 
trate its  true  character;  because  it  is  all-important  to  show 
that  this  and  kindred  passages  are  exhausted,  under  a  just 
interpretation,  by  showing  the  agency,  clothed  by  its  asso- 
ciate iSaTZTc^oj,  with  a  plenary  influence  over  its  object;  and 
that  no  element  for  dipping,  or  plunging,  or  sinking,  in 
fact  or  in  figure,  belongs  to  the  exposition.  From  the 
original,  physical  use  the  idea  of  controlling  influence  has 
been  eliminated  ;  and  we  have  no  need  any  longer  to  recur, 
in  word  or  in  thought,  to  such  phj^sical  use. 

And  now,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Ileliodorus  declares 
"the  city  baptized  by  sleep" — without  giving  any  mode 
of  baptism ;  and  in  vieAV  of  the  fact  that  Ovid  declares  the 
mode  by  which  "  night  brings  all  in  this  darkened  earth 
into  a  somnolent  condition"  is  by  "sprinkling;"  it  follows, 
incontrovertibly,  that  a  mode  of  effecting  sleep-baptism 
is  by  sprinkling. 

Let  no  Baptist  friend  be  solicitous  lest  I  should  forget 
the  difference,  or  should  surreptitiously  confound,  sleep- 
baptism  and  water  baptism.  I  will  ever  try  to  distinguish 
between  things  that  differ,  and  am,  for  the  present,  quite 
satisfied  with  the  point  reached — the  unchallengable  posi- 
tion— Sleep-baptism  may  be  by  sprinkling. 

Dr.  C.  puts  the  passage  under  consideration  with  others, 
under  the  explanatory  heading — "  To  plunge,  to  immerse, 

to  whelm  (as  in  ingulfing  floods) in  sleep,"  etc. 

Dr.  Conant  does  not  tell  us  the  point  of  resemblance  be- 
tween a  city  asleep  at  midnight  and  "  a  man  j)langed  in 
ingulfing  floods."  Until  he  does,  I  rather  think  that  the 
world  must  remain  in  ignorance  on  the  point.     Whatever 


298  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

exposition  ne  may  give,  it  is  quite  probable  tliat  some 
second  Carson  will  enumerate  it  as  among  those  cases 
wbich  were  "  clumsily  got  over  by  tlie  help  of  figure." 

Hear  a  criticism  of  Carson  of  Tubbermore:  "  '  Steep  me 
in  poverty  to  the  very  lips.'  It  is  here  supposed  that 
there  is  a  likeness  between  being  in  great  poverty,  and 
being  steeped  in  water.  "We  cannot  say  that  the  likeness 
is  faint,  for  there  is  no  likeness  at  all." — [Figures  of  Speech, 
J).  286.)  But  if  no  resemblance  in  such  a  case,  how  much 
less  in  one  where  gentle  sleep  confronts  'plunging  into  floods. 


13.  "  But  let  us  not  be  co-mersed  by  this  grief  of  his, 
nor  be,  un observantly,  carried  away  by  his  tears,  as  by 
torrents."  Heliodorus. 

If  any  one  should  think  that  the  mention  of  "torrents." 
in  close  connection  with  mersion,  is  indicative  of  an  allusion 
to  primary  use,  I  would  care  but  little  to  debate  the  matter. 
Such  rare  references  would  rather  strengthen  the  general 
position,  that  where  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind  men- 
tioned, no  allusion  is  intended.  But,  in  the  present  case, 
"torrents"  are  not  connected  with  the  mersion,  but  with 
the  "  tears."  And  in  determining  the  relation  between 
torrents,  we  must  guard  against  the  extravagance  of  sup- 
posing tears  to  be  converted  into  torrents.  Such  is  not 
the  point.  The  resemblance  is  between  the  moral  efiect 
of  tears  and  the  physical  efiect  of  toiTents.  The  influence 
of  tears  changes  our  feelings  and  purposes,  as  the  influence 
of  torrents  changes  the  jwsition  of  objects  encountered. 
The  man  who  is  influenced  by  tears  is  not  supposed  to  be 
carried  away  by  torrents;  but  is  like,  so  far  as  change  of 
moral  position  is  concerned,  to  one  who  is  carried  away 
by  torrents,  so  far  as  physical  position  is  concerned. 

The  mersion  is  by  grief,  and  is  indicative  of  profound 
influence. 

In  this  case,  and  in  all  similar  cases,  mersion,  or  baptism, 
represents  a  complete  change  of  condition. 


BAPTISM    OF   ASIA.  299 

14.  "  The  relation  of  your  wanderings,  often  post- 
poned, as  you  know,  because  the  casualties  still  mersed 
you,  you  could  not  keep  for  a  better  opportunity  than  the 
present.  ,  Heliodoeus. 

Could  any  statement  be  farther  removed  from  a  dipping 
or  plunging  into  water?  There  cannot  be  a  reference  to 
an  act,  for  the  statement  turns  on  a  continuous  condition. 
How  devoid  of  all  reason  would  be  the  idea  of  a  long-con- 
tinued mersion  in  water  of  a  living  man  !  That  remark- 
able events  and  casualties  of  life  should  exercise,  for  a 
long  time,  a  controlling  influence  over  our  feeliugs,  so  that 
we  should  feel  a  reluctance  to  speak  of  them,  is  a  matter 
of  daily  experience.  This,  and  not  plunging  or  lying 
drowned  in  water,  is  the  statement  made  by  Heliodorus. 


15.  "Great  at  Salamis;  for  there,  fighting,  he  mersed 
all  Asia."  Heimerius. 

17.  "  Salamis  was  the  pinnacle  of  exploits ;  where  thou 
didst  merse  Asia."  Libanius. 

However  bravely  the  attempt  may  be  made  to  put  "  all 
Asia"  into  the  waters  of  the  gulf  Argolis,  the  attempt  will 
issue  in  both  a  physical  and  rhetorical  failure.  Why 
should  "all  Asia"  be  dipped,  or  plunged, or  sunk  into  the 
gulf?  All  the  fleet  was  not.  The  mersion  of  Asia  did 
not  turn  on  the  mersion  of  the  ships.  If  not  one  vessel 
had  been  sunk,  but  every  vessel  captured  and  brought 
into  port,  Asia  would  have  been,  equally,  mersed.  Had 
the  battle  been  fought  on  the  land,  in  a  sandy  desert,  with 
like  issue,  Asia  would,  still,  have  been  mersed.  It  was 
the  triumpl^ant  victory,  which  gave  Greece  a  power  com- 
petent to  sway  a  controlling  influence  over,  to  merse,  Asia. 
Gale  would  dip  a  lake  into  the  blood  of  a  frog,  because 
he  would  not  acknowledge  a  secondary  meaning  to  lidrzrto. 
Carson  exclaims:  "Monstrous  perversion  of  taste!"    And 


300  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

all  from  a  denial  of  the  truth, — /?«'7rrw  has  a  secondary 
meaning.  Its  admission  obliterates  all  idea  of  a  dipping, 
and  establishes  an  effect  in  the  stead  of  an  act. 

When  will  a  second  Carson  arise,  and,  with  imperial 
utterance,  constrain  his  friends  to  confess  (iayzri'^u),  too,  has 
a  secondary  meaning,  putting  to  flight  shadowy  figures 
and  "  monstrous  perversions  of  taste"  ? 

Asia  was  mersed  by  "  fighting,"  not  by  dipping.  Con- 
trolling influence  changed  her  condition. 


16.  "  He  exhorts  the  class  of  bread-makers  to  be  more 
just,  but  he  did  not  think  it  proper  to  use  compulsion, 
fearing  the  running  away  of  the  mass;  by  which  the  city 
would,  immediately,  be  mersed,  just  as  a  ship,  the  sailors 
having:  deserted  it."  Libanius. 


'o 


Two  mersions  are,  here,  distinctly  stated.  The  one  of 
a  city,  and  the  other  of  a  ship.  The  one  by  the  desertion 
of  food-makers,  the  other  by  the  desertion  of  the  navi- 
gators. Mersion  in  the  one  case  is  said  to  be  just  as  cer- 
tain as  in  the  other.  That  the  one  mersion  is  like  the 
other  is  a  folly  not  stated.  That  the  one  mersion  is  lik- 
ened to  the  other,  as  a  dipping,  or  plunging,  or  sinking  in 
water,  is  a  crude  conceit  nowhere  intimated.  There  is  a 
point  in  which  the  two  widely  different  mersions  are  like ; 
not  a  likeness  dimly  seen  through  the  haze  of  figure,  but 
an  absolute  likeness.  The  likeness  is  that  of  certain  ruin. 
A  city  abandoned  by  its  food-producers  will  be  ruined  by 
tumult  and  famine.  A  ship  abandoned  by  its  navigators 
will  be  ruined  by  winds  and  waves.  The  nature  of  the 
baptism  in  the  one  case  and  in  the  other,  is  indicated  by 
its  proximate  cause. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  clearer  proof  passage  of 
the  existence  of  the  secondarv  meaning  contended  for. 
Agreements  and  ditierences  are  best  seen  when  the  ob- 
jects involved  can  be  placed  side  by  side.  This  is  done 
here.    And  we  find  that  the  baptism  of  an  abandoned  cit}-, 


BAPTISM   OF   A    CITY.  301 

and  tlie  baptism  of  an  abandoned  ship,  have  nothing  in 
common,  save  the  being  subject  to  controlling  influences  issuing 
in  destruction.  This  is  the  point  of  likeness  stated  by  Li- 
banins.  It  is  the  true,  onlj^  and  all-sufficient  point  of  con- 
tact between  the  primary  and  secondary  meaning. 

All  attempts  to  trace  resemblances  between  dippings, 
plungings,  and  sinkings -in  water,  is  as  unprofitable  as 
ploughing  the  sand.   Bread-makers  would  baptize  the  city. 


18.  ''He  who  hardljM^ears  the  things  which  he  is,  al- 
ready, bearing,  would  be  mersed  by  a  small  addition." 

LiBANIUS. 

"Where  is  the  person,  here,  spoken  of?  On  the  land  or 
in  the  water?  What  are  the  things  which  he  is  already 
bearing?  Blocks  of  granite,  or  masses  of  pig-iron?  If 
he  is  travelling,  or  swimming  in  the  water,  and  bearing  a 
hundred  weight,  a  small  addition  may  put  him  under  the 
water;  but  if  he  is  on  the  land,  and  his  burden  consists 
of  intellectual  or  moral  responsibilities  and  solicitudes, 
then,  a  very  large  addition  will  not  transport  him  to  a  flood, 
or  merse  him  under  its  surface ;  however  much  it  might 
exercise  a  controlling  influence  over  him. 

'No  comparison  is  instituted  with  an  overburdened  ves- 
sel, but  the  statement  has  the  most  absolute  limitation  to 
the  man  and  his  circumstances.  It  is  their  influence,  an 
influence  to  be  determined  by  their  nature,  which  is 
spoken  of.    A  "small  addition  "  may  change  his  condition. 


19.  "  This  is  he  who  having  found  the  miserable  Cimon 
mersed  and  forsaken  did  not  overlook  him."       Libanius. 

Does  the  writer  intend  to  picture  Cimon  as  found  lying 
under  the  water,  drowned  and  forsaken  ? 

A  man  who  is  in  distress,  beyond  what  courage  and 
hope  can  contend  with,  is  a  mersed  man;  and  would  be  so 
if  there  were  uot  a  drop  of  water  on  our  planet. 


302  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

20.  "  Grief  for  him  merging  the  sonl  and  darkening  the 
understanding,  brings  a  certain  mistiness  over  the  ejes." 

LiBANIUS. 

This  is  a  passage  taken  from  a  funeral  discourse  on  tne 
Emperor  Juhan.  ^^  Whelms  the  soul"  (Conani).  Against 
this  translation  we  must  enter  our  protest.  Not  on  the 
ground  of  merit,  but  as  a  Baptist  translation.  We  call 
attention  to  this  translation,  because,  as  used,  it  is  full  of 
meaning  and  an  efficient  argument  for  our  cause.  Dr. 
Conant  gives  sixty-four  quotations,  under  the  head  of 
"Tropical  or  Figurative  Sense."  Fifijj-one  of  these  he 
translates  by  "whelm."  Such  a  translation  is  contrary 
to  Baptist  views,  long  advocated,  and  is  repudiated  by 
Dr.  Carson.  This  fact  becomes  the  more  remarkable, 
when  it  is  added,  that  of  eighty-six  passages,  under  the 
caption,  "  Literal,  Physical  Sense,"  there  is  but  a  solitary 
case  which  receives  this  translation. 

Dr.  Conant's  work  has  been  too  laboriously,  and  too 
artistically  constructed,  to  permit  us  to  suppose  that  no 
strong  reason  underlies  these  facts.  Let  me  suggest: 
1.  Wlidm  does  not  answer  Baptist  views,  because  they 
have  insisted  upon  an  act,  a  definite  act,  an  act  which 
moves  the  object  into  the  water.  But  whelm  has  not 
these  characteristics.  It  expresses  a  condition ;  the  result 
of  the  element  coming  over  its  object  with  uncontrollable 
power.  Whelm  is,  therefore,  eschewed  by  Baptists  as  rep- 
resenting the  "  Literal,  Physical  Sense,"  and  im-merse, 
im-merge,  sub-merge,  dip,  plunge,  are  pressed  into  the 
service.  2.  These  terms,  which  are  made  to  express,  as 
far  as  possible,  forms  of  action,  will  not  answer  for  the 
tropical  or  secondary  use;  because  it  exhibits  merely  con- 
trolling influence,  eliminated  from  the  primary,  physical 
use,  and  resort  is  had  to  whelm,  which  does,  in  like  man- 
ner, carry  into  tropical  or  secondary  use  the  same  idea  of 
controlling  influence.  Dr.  Conant,  therefore,  in  rejecting 
im-merse,  im-merge,  sub-merge,  plunge,  dip,  in  the  tropi- 
cal use  (these  words  not  carrying  with  them  the  idea  of 


BAPTISM   BY  GRIEF.  803 

controlling  influence),  and  by  adopting  tlie  before  dis- 
carded term,  whelm  (which  does  carry  with  it  this  idea), 
furnishes  the  most  conclusive  testimony  to  the  point,  that 
/Sarrr/C"',  wlieu  turned  from  its  primary  use,  does  carry  with 
it,  and  directly  express,  the  secondary  meaning  of  control- 
ling influence.  Thus,  "grief"  is  said,  in  the  passage  be- 
fore us,  to  exercise  "a  controlling  influence  over  the  soul, 
darkening  the  understanding,"  &c.  A  physical,  whelmed 
condition  is  induced  by  other  forms  of  movement  than 
flowing.  A  falling  avalanche  whelms.  "Whatever  comes 
upon  and  rises  over  constitutes  a  whelming.  ISTor  is  it 
matter  in  masses,  or  fluids  in  streams,  only,  that  whelms. 
Flakes  of  snow,  particles  of  sand,  drops  of  water,  may 
whelm.  The  traveller  may  be  whelmed  by  snow-flakes; 
the  caravan  may  be  whelmed  by  sand  particles;  and  the 
globe  may  be  whelmed  by  rain-droj)S. 

Whelm  in  secondary  use  rejects,  1.  All  forms  of  action; 
2.  All  varieties  of  physical  material;  3.  All  physical  cover- 
ing; and  adopts,  and  carries  with  it  into  its  new  domain, 
controlling  influence,  which  is,  always,  present  in  every 
case  of  physical  whelming. 

It  is  because  of  this  truth  that  Dr.  Conant  abandons  his 
translations  in  the  physical  use,  and  adopts  another  in 
what  he  terms  figurative  use.  In  so  far  forth  as  control- 
ling influence  is  concerned,  baptize  and  whelm  do,  very 
completely,  measure  each  other.  The  nature  of  this  in- 
fluence is  determined  by  its  adjunct  terms.  It  may  be  of 
joy  or  sorrow,  virtue  or  vice,  life  or  death.  Whatever  can 
influence  its  object  controllingly — be  it  great  or  small, 
much  or  little;  be  it  applied  to  th^f  lips  as  wine,  to  the 
eyes  as  poppy-juice,  to  the  ears  in  perplexing  questions, 
to  the  heart  through  joy  or  grief — whelms,  baptizes, 
merses,  changes,  completely,  the  condition. 


21.    "But  the  remainder  (of  the  city  councils)  being 
small,  was  mersed."  LiBAimis. 

This  refers  to  the  opposite  courses,  selfish  and  unselfish, 


30-1  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

pursued  by  the  members  of  the  councils  in  the  cities,  and 
the  issue  to  the  honest  few.  They  were  mersed;  and 
fidelity  to  their  trust  ended  in  beggary. 

The  absolute  use  of  the  word,  joins,  with  all  other  con- 
siderations, to  demand  a  direct  and  essential  value  to  be 
given  to  it.  The  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  them 
was  beyond  their  control. 


22.  "  But  uow^,  as  you  see,  the  matter  (of  instruction, 
Libanius  was  a  teacher)  being  mersed,  and  all  the  winds 
put  in  motion  against  it."  Libanius. 

As  the  context  speaks  of  "sailing,"  &c.,  we  may  sup- 
pose, from  the  rhetorical  embellishment,  that  the  origin 
of  the  word  was  present  to  the  writer's  mind.  There  is, 
however,  a  strong  and  exclusive  forth-putting  of  the  idea 
of  controllius:  influence. 


23.  "  But  you  do  not  announce  this  want  of  leisure  to 
those  giving  splendid  feasts;  but  if  asked  your  decision 
concerning  any  more  important  mutters,  j'ou  have  no 
leisure,  but  are  mersed."  Llbaniiis, 

Such  free  and  absolute  use  of  the  word  is  highly  indica- 
tive of  its  being  not  merely  a  satellite  in  the  )vorld  of 
letters,  shining  only  with  borrowed  light,  but  a  fixed  star, 
having  light  of  its  own.  If  we  are  unable  to  affix  a  specific 
chanicter  to  the  general  import  of  the  word,  as  thus  abso- 
lutely used  (and  some  question  might  arise  here),  still,  we 
know,  beyond  controversy,  that  some  controlling  influence 
is  referred  to. 


24.  "  But  when  he  docs  not  so  continue,  being  mersed 
by  diseases  and  by  arts  of  wizards."  Plotinus. 

"Whelmed  either  with   diseases  or  with  arts  of  ma- 


BAPTISM   BY   WIZARD   ARTS.  305 

gians"  (Conant).  Wliy  not  m  diseases  and  in  magical  arts 
as  well  as  "  in  sleep"?  The  former  is  as  suitable  to  repre- 
sent the  dement  of  mersion  as  the  latter.  But  neither  of 
them  should  do  so.  It  is  the  agency^  the  source  of  in- 
fluence, only,  that  is  spoken  of  And  what  appearance 
of  water  is  there  in  this  statement  ?  How  shall  it  be  intro- 
duced? What  part  belongs  to  "diseases  and  wizard  arts" 
in  the  picture  ?  Does  the  unhappy  man  lie  down  on  the 
s€a-shore  while  diseases  and  incantations,  converted  into 
billows,  roll  over  liim  ?  Or,  is  the  sufferer  to  be  metamor- 
phosed into  a  ship,  and  the  scene  a  naval  battle,  where  he, 
as  a  ship,  goes  down  under  the  hostile  assaults  of  disease 
and  magic,  in  the  shape  of  "stones  and  machines"?  The 
picture  must  be  filled  up  in  some  such  way,  if  we  have  a 
picture  at  all. 

But  Dr.  Carson  says,  that  "whelming"  is  no  baptism  in 
fact,  but  only  <5  gratia,  because  whelming  is  not  dipping. 
If  Dr.  Carson  be  right,  then  Dr.  Conant  bases  a  figure  on 
a  figure,  which,  is  a  very  baseless  basis.  But  if  Dr.  Carson 
be  wrong,  then  his  "  millenary"  honors  become  imperilled 
among  his  friends,  while  they  deny  his  "  complete  demon- 
stration" that  "/3a;rT:t">  means  nothing  but  dip." 

I  will  not  sa}^  that  this  very  remarkable  language  of 
Plotinus  cannot,  by  ingenuity  or  violence,  be  made  to  take 
the  aspect  of  figure;  for,  with  "ample  verge  and  room," 
this  can  be  done  to  almost  any  language.  When  Marcus 
Antoninus  speaks  of  a  man  o'./.aioGwrj  (islSa/ipiivov,  Dr.  Gale  says 
he  speaks  in  figure,  and  /SaTrrw  has  its  primary  meaning. 
The  man  is  "  dipped  in  justice."  Dr.  Carson  protests 
against  this,  declaring  that  (SaTzruj  has  here  a  secondary 
meaning,  and  is  used  literally,  meaning  to  dge  with.  Again, 
Dr.  Carson  says :  the  sea^coast  is  baptized,  not  literally, 
but  only  by  the  help  of  figure;  while  Prof.  Ripley  says, 
there  is  no  figure  about  it,  l)ut  jSaTrrt^o)  means  to  overflow. 

Now,  until  these  most  estimable  Doctors  can  agree  as 
to  what  is  primary  and  secondary  use,  what  is  literality 
and  figure,  in  the  case  of  these  words,  they  should  not 
press  their  opponents  too  hardly  with  the  dogmatic  asser- 

20 


306  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

tion,  that  the  case  before  us  is  figure,  and  that  "  diseases 
and  wizard  arts  "  represent  ocean  billows. 


25.  "He  is  praised  because  he  mersed  the  stewards; 
being  not  stewards  but  sharks."  Plutarch. 

I 'do  not  know  the  nature  of  this  baptism.  I  cannot 
say  that  water  had  not  something  to  do  with  it,  or  every- 
thing, because  I  have  no  certain  knowledge.  The  passage, 
as  it  stands  (I  am  indebted  for  it  to  Dr.  Conant),  does  not 
throw  a  ray  of  light  upon  the  nature  of  the  baptism.  It 
is  impossible  to  tell  whether  it  is  primary  or  secondary, 
literal  or  figurative.  The  stewards  might  have  been 
drowned,  might  have  been  put  to  sleep  by  an  opiate,  might 
have  been  made  drunk,  might  have  been  confounded  by  an 
expose  of  their  administration,  or  a  dozen  other  things, 
and  the  language  would  apply  equally  well  in  either  case. 
They  would  all,  alike,  be  mersions,  baptisms.  IIow  de- 
lusive is  the  position, — "  One  meaning,  clear,  precise, 
definite,  through  all  Greek  literature."  Any  such  word 
could  expound  itself.  But  this  word  cannot.  Complete- 
ness of  condition  is  its  essential  demand. 


26.  "  Mersed  by  worldly  aflfairs — we  should  struggle  out 
and  try  to  save  ourselves,  and  reach  the  harbor." 

Plutarch. 

Rhetorical  figure  carries  the  mind  back  to  the  circum- 
stances out  of  which  the  secondary  use  sprang.  There- 
fore, to  insist  on  introducing  shipwreck,  struggling,  swim- 
ming, reaching  a  harbor,  into  every  conversational  use  of 
the  word,  would  be  as  stilted  and  as  mistaken  as  to  put 
on  a  state  dress  to  go  out  and  do  a  day's  ploughing. 


27.  "Knowing  him  to  be  licentious  and  extravagant, 
and  mersed  by  debts  of  fifty  millions."  Plutarch. 


BAPTISM   BY   DEBT.  307 

"  Whelmed  witli  debts  amounting  to  fifty  millions" 
(Conant).  "  Oppressed  with  a  debt  of  five  thousand  myr- 
iads" (Carson). 

Conant  figures  the  debts  as  a  mass  falling  on  the  debtor, 
or  as  flowing  waters  rolling  over  him.  It  is  entirely  wrong, 
according  to  Carson,  to  expound  yJoTrrttw  as  bringing  the 
element  over  the  object.  The  word  demands  that  the 
object  be  put  into  the  element.  Hence  the  figure  which 
he  pictures,  out  of  these  same  materials,  is  that  of  a  man 
sinking,  in  still  waters,  with  a  millstone  around  his  neck. 
"  This  debt  was  not  poured  upon  him,  nor  poured  into 
him;  but  oppressed  by  it,  as  a  load,  he  su7ik,  or  became 
insolvent."  "  The  figure  does  not  represent  the  mode  of 
putting  the  debt  on  him,  for  in  this  there  is  no  likeness. 
It  represents  the  debt,  when  on  him,  as  causing  him  to 
sink." 

Carson  forgets  that  he  should  make  the  debt  io  dip  the 
man,  not  to  aink  him.  But  we  get  used  to  this  slipping 
one  word  into  the  place  of  another,  in  reading  this  writer. 
I  would,  also,  call  attention  to  the  confusion  and  error 
arising  from  the  use  of  "oppress"  as  the  equivalent  of 
jpress.  To  press  and  to  oppress  are  very  difierent  words. 
The  same  amount  of  pressure  may  cause  oppression  to 
one  man  and  not  to  another.  Debt  or  load  may  press  on 
a  man,  and  his  ability  to  bear  the  one  or  the  other  be 
entirely  adequate.  Debt  or  load  which  oppresses  a  man 
has  reached  a  measure  exhaustive  of  his  ability.  When, 
therefore,  Dr.  Carson  translates  by  "  oppress,"  he  vin- 
dicates (in  like  manner  as  Conant  by  his  translation, 
"whelm")  the  point  we  advocate — namely,  a  secondary 
use  expressive  oi  controlling  influence, 

Carson  has,  heretofore,  remarked:  "To  be  dipped  in 
debt,  supposes  that  we  owe  something  considerable  in 
proportion  to  our  means."  In  this  he  is  professedly  speak- 
ing of  the  Greek  /Sa7rT£'>,  while,  really,  he  is  expounding 
the  English  dip.  Dipped,  in  connection  wnth  debt,  in  Eng- 
lish, implies  but  a  slight  indebtedness  compared  with  the 
means  to  pay;  baptized,  in  the  same  connection,  was  used 


308  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

by  the  Greeks  to  express  indebtedness  beyond  all  means 
to  pay.  "We  may  be  dipped,  in  debt,  without  being 
drowned.  The  last  cannot  be  adequately  represented  by 
baptizo,  except  when  circumstances  render  the  meaning 
definite."  The  reverse  of  this  statement  is  the  truth.  A 
man  baptized  in  water  is  a  drowned  man,  unless  there  is 
evidence  to  the  contrary;  and  a  man  baptized  in  debt  is  a 
ruined  man,  unless  there  is  evidence  to  the  contrary.  It  is 
very  doubtful  whether  the  English  language  can  furnish 
a  second  book  equalling  that  of  Carson  in  its  confusion 
of  important  words. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  this  mersion  is  in  debts;  the  dative 
is  instrumental,  as  elsewhere.  In  every  aspect  the  passage 
vindicates  the  idea  of  controlling  influence. 


28.  "Eager  that  their  children  excel,  quickly^  in  all 
things,  they  impose  on  them  labors  beyond  measure,  ,  ,  . 
For  as  plants  are  nourished  by  water,  in  measure,,  but  are 
choked  by  excess,  after  the  same  manner  the  soul  grows 
by  labors,  in  measm-e,  but  is  mersed  by  excess." 

Flutarch. 

It  is  impossible  to  figure  "mersed"  as  a  dipping  in  water 
without  makinff  Plutarch  one  of  the  saddest  of  blunderers, 
"  The  soul  (/rows  by  limited  labors,  but  is  dipped  in  water 
by  unlimited  labors."  Is  that  the  way  in  which  the  pre- 
ceptor of  Trajan  harmonized  the  members  of  a  sentence? 
Certainly  he  succeeded  better  in  the  attempt  immediately 
preceding — "  Plants  are  nourished  by  water  in  measure, 
but  are  choked  by  excess."  We  cannot  consent  to  an  in- 
terpretation of  "mersed"  which  easts  shame  on  this  ac- 
complished Greek  writer.  If  he  affirms  that  the  influence 
of  moderate  labor  is  healthy  growth,  then  he  afiirms  that 
the  influence  of  excessive  labor  is  unhealthy  decay.  Mod- 
erate labor  is  within  the  power,  under  the  control,  and 
made  subordinate  by  the  soul,  to  its  advantage;  immod- 
erate labor  is  beyond  the  power,  not  subject  to  the  control 


BAPTISM  BY  STUDY.  309 

of  the  sou],  "but  suT^ordinates  the  soul  to  itself,  and  injures 
or  destroys  it.  To  express  such  controlling  influence, 
Plutarch  employs  the  terra  in  question. 

Carson  thus  comments :  "  Mr.  Ewing  says, '  the  refer- 
ence here  to  the  nourishment  of  plants  indicates  pouring, 
only,  to  be  the  species  of  watering  alluded  to  in  the  term.' 
But  in  this  figure  there  is  no  reference  at  all  to  the  mode 
of  watering  plants.  The  reference  is  to  the  quantity  of 
water.  The  mode  is  not  mentioned;  but  even  were  it 
mentioned,  it  would  merely  be  a  circumstance  to  which 
nothing  corresponds  in  the  thing  illustrated.  What  critic 
would  ever  think  of  hunting  after  such  likeness  in  figur- 
ative language?  There  is,  actually,  no  likeness  between 
the  mode  of  watering  plants  and  the  proportioning  of 
labor  to  the  mind  of  a  pupil;  and  Plutarch  is  not  guilty 
of  such  absurdity.  To  Plutarch's  figure  it  would  be  quite 
the  same  thing,  if  a  pot  of  plants  was  dipped  into  water, 
instead  of  having  the  water  poured  into  it.  The  pot  itself 
might  be  dipped  into  water  without  any  injury  to  the 
plants.  The  plants  are  injured  when  the  water  is  suffered 
to  lie  about  them  in  too  great  abundance,  in  whatever  way 
it  has  been  applied.  The  choking  of  the  plant  corresponds 
to  the  suffbeation  in  baptism  or  immersion.  The  choking 
of  the  powers  of  the  mind  is  elegantly  illustrated  by  the 
choking  of  the  vegetable  powers  when  a  plant  is  covered 
in  water.  There  is  a  beautiful  allusion  to  the  suffocation 
of  an  animal  under  water.  Were  Plutarch  to  arise  from 
the  dead,  with  what  indignation  would  he  remonstrate 
asraiust  the  criticism  that  makes  him  to  refer  to  the  mode 
of  watering  plants,  in  a  figure  intended  to  illustrate  the 
bad  effects  of  too  much  studj^!  How  loudly  would  he 
disclaim  the  cold,  unnatural  thought !  Is  it  not  possible 
to  illustrate,  figuratively,  something  by  a  reference  to  the 
mountains  buried  under  the  snow,  without  referring  to  the 
ynamier  of  its  falling,  and  pursuing  the  resemblance  to  the 
flakes  of  the  feathered  snow?  So  far  from  this,  I  assert,  tha,t 
this  manner  of  explaining  figures  is  univcrsallij  improper. 
No  instance  could  be  more  beautifully  decisive  in   our 


310  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

favor  than  the  above  figure  of  Phitarch.  Mr.  Ewing 
makes  him  compare  the  choking  of  one  thing  to  the  over- 
whelming  of  another.  But  the  author  himself  compares 
the  choking  of  a  plant,  or  the  extinction  of  vegetable  life,  to 
the  choking  or  extinction  of  the  mental  poicers;  and  in  both 
there  is  an  elegant  allusion  to  the  choking  of  an  animal 
under  water." 

In  this  interpretation  Carson  abandons  dip,  all  act,  aud 
makes  the  solution  turn  on  effect,  a  doctrine  which  he 
reprobated  in  Gale  and  Cox.  This  effect  results  from 
"  water  lying  about"  the  plants.  But  can  "  dip"  produce 
any  such  effect?  Besides,  it  is  not  the  "lying  about," 
whether  by  pouring  or  any  other  way,  with  which  the 
sentiment  has  to  do;  but  the  consequent  result,  the  in- 
fluence proceeding  from  such  a  condition.  It  is  that  de- 
structive influence,  and  not  a  mersed  condition,  any  more 
than  the  form  of  the  act,  inducing  such  condition,  of  which 
Plutarch  speaks.  Carson  cannot  interpret  the  passage 
without  an  utter  abandonment  of  that  meaning,  of  which, 
he  says,  he  has  made  a  "  complete  demonstration." 

Compare  the  views  here  announced  with  those  on  the 
baptism  of  taxes.  "In  this  figure  the  rulers  are  supposed 
to  immerse  the  people.  The  literal  translation  is — '  they  do 
not  immerse  the  people  with  taxes.'  The  people,  in  such 
figure,  sink  by  being  weighed  down  with  taxes.  They 
cause  the  people  to  sink  by  their  weight.  It  is  a  deep 
water  in  which  we  si7ik.  To  sink  by  debt,  iigures  the 
debt  as  a  load  on  our  shoulders,  while  we  are  in  deep 
water.  A  man  struggling  for  life  in  deep  water,  and  at 
last  sinking  by  exhaustion,  is  a  true  picture  of  an  insolvent 
debtor." 

Thus  we  see,  when  Dr.  Carson  can  lay  his  hands  on 
immersing,  sinking,  plunging,  or  struggling,  in  water,  whether 
lawfully  or  unlawfully,  he  works  them  into  figure  with  a 
will.  But  when  the  act  is  2^our,  why,  then,  to  base  inter- 
pretation on  that,  is  enough  to  stir  old  Plutarch  in  his 
grave,  and  put  a  tongue  between  his  crumbling  teeth  to 
cry  out  in  indignation.    When  the  act  by  which  a  baptism 


BAPTISM   BY   STUDY.  311 

takes  place  is,  or  is  supposed  to  be,  dipping,  plunging, 
sinking,  mode  is  everytliing,  and  ^a-Kri^m  denotes  modal 
act;  but  when  the  act  of  baptism  is  i^our^  then,  "it  is 
nought,  it  is  nought,"  cries  the  controversialist;  and 
fia-Ti'^uj  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  act;  everything  is  con- 
centred in  effect,  resultant  condition,  water  lying  about  the 
plants,  and  consequent  choking  influence! 

Wlien  it  is  claimed  that  hot  iron  may  be  cooled  by  pour- 
ing water  upon  it,  Carson  is  indignant  that  "  the  usual 
mode"  should  be  disregarded.  Wlien  it  is  pleaded  that 
"the  usual  mode"  of  watering  plants  is  by  pouring,  why, 
then,  the  pot  can  be  just  as  well  dipped  ! 

The  choking  or  extinction  of  the  mental  powers  is  com- 
pared to  the  "  choking  of  a  plant."  Plutarch  does  not  say 
one  syllable  about  the  choking  of  the  mental  powers,  and 
the  introduction  of  the  word  is  a  surreptitious  abandon- 
ment of  the  claimed  figure,  dipped  in  water,  for  the  in- 
fluence which  results  from  a  mersion.  And  as  for  the 
elegant  allusion  in  "the  soul  mersed  by  excessive  labor" 
to  an  "  animal  sufibcating  under  water,"  Plutarch  will  not 
be  indignant  at  such  an  allusion  being,  most  gratuitously, 
attributed  to  him,  for  Plutarch,  alas,  is  dead!  But  Dr. 
Carson  thinks  that  no  likeness  can  be  pointed  out  between 
an  act  and  an  efiect.  We  are  glad  to  hear  him  say  so. 
How  it  happens  that  he  has  undertaken  to  point  out  the 
resemblance  between  the  act  of  baptism  (mode  and  nothing 
but  mode)  and  the  effect  of  debt,  taxes,  grief,  sleep,  wine 
drinking,  &c.,  &c.,  we  will  not  attempt  to  €xj)lain.  He 
says:  "Plutarch  is  not  guilty  of  such  absurdity."  Put 
another  name  for  Plutarch,  and  will  the  commission  of 
the  absurdity  be  ^visdom  ? 

Whether  we  regard  the  passage  itself,  or  its  attempted 
exposition  by  those  who  would  expound  it  as  a  water 
figure,  we  are  shut  up  to  the  conclusion  that  controlling 
influence  proceeding  from  excessive  mental  labor,  is  what 
is,  only  and  directly,  stated. 


312  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

29.  "  The  lo-Bacchus  was  sung  in  feasts  and  sacrifices 
of  Bacclius,  mersed  with  much  wantonness."      Proclus. 

"Ini-bathed  with  much  wantonness"  (Conant).  Bap- 
tist transhitors  have  a  remarkable  pejichant  for  compound- 
ing the  translation  of  iSaTzri^uj  as  in  im-merse,  im.-m.erge, 
sub-merge,  over-whelm,  zm-bathe,  when  there  is  no  cor- 
responding feature  in  the  original. 

It  is,  somewhat,  remarkable  that  the  power  of  the  dative 
should  assert  itself  as  agency  contrary  to  the  tendency 
of  the  use  of  zm-bathe  to  convert  it  into  the  mersing  ele- 
ment. Milton's  language,  probably,  helped  to  this  result. 
In  "  imbathe, "  dipping,  plunging,  sinking,  all  disappear. 
The  cherished  dogma,  "mode,  and  nothing  but  mode," 
has  utterly  vanished.  Im-bathe  has  not  the  strength  of 
an  infant  to  put  its  object  in  anything.  It  may,  but  does 
not  necessarily,  envelop  its  object.  It  has  extremely  lim- 
ited use  in  application  to  physical  elements,  and  I  do  not 
know  that  it  is  found  in  such  use  out  of  poetry.  Im- 
bathe and  bathe-in  are  no  more  equivalent,  in  use  and 
meaning,  than  are  op-press  and  press-on.  Imbathe  and 
oppress  refer,  almost  exclusively,  to  things  and  influences 
which  are  un-physical.  When  Dr.  Conant  translates  by 
the  very  unusual  word  "  imbathe,"  (unusual,  I  mean,  in 
his  translations),  he  does,  again,  establish  the  position  that 
the  usage  we  are  examining  is  declarative  of  controlling 
influence. 

He  quotes  Milton :  "  And  the  sweet  odor  of  the  return- 
ing gospel  imbathe  his  soul  with  the  fragranc}"  of  heaven." 
The  soul  is  not  put  into  this  heavenly  fragrance,  but  it 
comes  upon  the  soul,  and  communicates  to  it  its  delights 
aboundingly.  A  passage  more  parallel  in  sentiment  mav 
be  found  in  Spenser  : 

"  Tluit  nigh  his  manly  hart  did  melt  away, 
Bathed  in  wanton  blis  and  wicked  joy." 

Imbathe  always  implies  influence  from  the  element  or 
agency  imbathing.     Milton  gives  an  illustration : 


BAPTISM    BY  WANTONNESS.  313 

"  Bearing  her  straight  to  aged  Nereus'  hall, 
Who,  piteous  of  her  woes,  rear'd  her  lank  head, 
And  gave  her  to  his  daughters  to  imbathe 
In  nectar 'd  la  vers  strew 'd  with  asphodel. 
And  through  the  porch  and  inlet  of  each  sense 
Dropt  in  ambrosial  oils  till  she  revived, 
And  underwent  a  quick  immortal  change." 

Coinus,  835-41. 

Hence,  when  Dr.  Conant  says  this  is  "tlie  corresponding 
English  word,"  there  is  much  truth  in  it,  so  far  as  this 
secondary  use  is  concerned;  but  very  little  so  far  as  the 
primary  use  is  concerned ;  as  the  facts  abundantly  show. 


30.  "  But  when  she  (Philosophy)  sees  me  mersed  by 
grief  and  carried  away  into  tears,  she  is  displeased." 

Themistius. 

"Whelmed  by  grief  and  moved  to  tears  "  [Conant).  In 
translating  slq  ddxpua  y.ara^tpo[izvov — "  moved  to  tears" — is  it 
designed  to  treat  this  as  figure?  Is  "tears"  to  be  repre- 
sented as  a  town  some  distance  off,  to  which  "move" 
carries  Themistius  ?  Or,  is  xarafspoij^vuv  a  rushing  torrent, 
bearing  the  mourner  for  his  flither  into  some  gulf  or  bay 
denoted  by  "  tears"?  Does  any  one  say,  "  this  is  inexcus- 
able ridicule."  I  answer,  it  is  just  such  exposition  as  this 
that  Carson  treats  us  to  when  he  represents  Egypt  flooded 
with  water,  and  its  inhabitants  sinking  in  the  flood  with 
loads  upon  their  backs  labelled  "taxes."  Or,  debtors 
floundering  in  deep  water,  and  going  down  under  the 
burden  of  unreceipted  bills. 

If  "moved  to  tears"  is  an  everyda}'- phrase,  well  under- 
stood as  directly  expressive  of  a  change  in  feeling  under 
some  powerful  influence,  which  it  becomes  an  imper- 
tinence to  expound,  soberly,  as  figure  denoting  a  change 
in  locality;  by  what  law  is  it  that  "mersed  by  grief "  is 
excluded  from  the  same  just  method  of  interpretation? 

"  Mersed  by  grief"  was  as  familiar  phraseology  to  the 


314  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Greeks,  expressive  of  the  controlling  influence  of  sorrow, 
as  is  "moved  to  tears"  familiar  to  us,  as  expressive  of  a 
change  of  feeling  under  tender  influences.  While  the 
origin  of  both  is  obvious,  frequent  use  has  given  to  each 
a  direct  power  of  expression  which  at  Once  carries  thought 
to  the  mind  without  any,  the  least,  reversion  to  a  pri 
mary  use. 

These  phrases  justly  claim  our  recognition  of  them  in 
this  their  acquired  character. 

WHAT    IS    IN    PROOF? 

Having  seen  exemplified  by  numerous  passages — (1.) 
Simple  intusposition  without  influence;  (2.)  Intusposition 
accompanied  with  influence ;  (3.)  Intusposition  for  the  sake' 
of  influence — we  have,  now,  very  conclusive  evidence  for, 
(4.)  Influence  without  intusposition. 

That  such  a  change  is  no  novelty  in  the  history  of  lan- 
guage is  evident: 

1.  From  an  analogous  change  in  iSdrrrcD.  This  word,  orig- 
inally, meant  to  dip.  By  dipping  into  coloring  matter  the 
object  became  colored;  hence,  came  the  secondary  mean- 
ing to  dye,  in  which  the  original  act,  dip,  was  laid  aside,  and 
the  resultant  influence  of  the  act,  color,  Avas  retained. 

2.  By  a  similar  change  in  steep.  The  primary  use  of 
this  word  requires  intusposition  within  a  fluid,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  or  receiving  thorough  influence.  In 
this  respect  it  is  quite  identical  with  the  third  class  above 
mentioned.  But  steep  does,  in  usage,  lay  aside  this  intus- 
position, both  as  of  fact  and  of  figure,  retaining  only  the 
idea  of  fulness  of  influence.    Witness  the  following : 

"  The  soveraine  wocde  betwixt  two  marbles  plaine 
Shee  pownded  small,  and  did  in  peaces  bruze ; 
And  then  atwoene  her  lilly  handes  twaine 
Into  his  wound  the  juice  thereof  did  scruze  ; 
And  round  about,  as  she  could  well  it  uze, 
Thefiesh  therewith  she  suppled  and  did  steepe." 

F.  q.  iii,  5. 


BAPTISM   WITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION.  315 

Also  tills : 

"  But  faire  Priscilla  (so  that  lady  hight) 
Still,  by  her  wounded  love  did  watch  all  night, 
And  all  the  night  for  bitter  anguish  weepe, 
And  with  her  tears  his  wounds  did  wash  and  steepe." 

F.  q.  vi,  3. 

3.  If  this  usage  were  originally  tropical,  it  is  au  uncoii- 
troverted  point,  that  tropical  use  may  become  literal. 

4.  It  is  impossible  to  make  these  passages  figure  simple 
intusposition.  "With  this  they  have  no  shadow  of  sym- 
pathy. Every  letter  sends  forth  a  ringing  cry  of  influence. 
It  must,  then,  be  intusposition  for  influence.  But  if  so, 
then  we  must  rack  our  invention  for  an  element  (for  none 
is  stated)  appropriate  to  each  case.  The  idea  of  making 
water  the  element  into  which  these  varied  agencies  merse 
their  objects,  is  sheerest  nonsense. 

5.  There  is  no  escape  from  influence  under  any  inter- 
pretation. We  claim  it  proved  that  (SanrtXa},  absolute  or 
with  appropriate  case,  in  unphysical  relations,  expresses 

CONTROLLING  INFLUENCE  wUllOUt  intuSpOSition. 


316  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

CONTROLLING  INFLUENCE— SPECIFIC. 

WITH    OR   WITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION. 

SECONDARY    USE, 

There  are  some  tilings  whicli  exert  over  certain  objects 
a  definite  and  unvarying  influence.  Whenever,  therefore, 
^aTtrc^o}  is  employed  to  denote  the  relation  between  such 
agencies  and  their  objects,  it  no  longer  expresses  a  merely 
general  influence,  or  one  which,  while  receiving  some 
coloring,  still  admits  a  varied  application;  but  gives  de- 
velopment, in  the  completest  manner,  to  that  specific  in- 
fluence which  belongs  to  the  case  in  hand.  The  specific 
influence  exerted  by  water  over  a  human  being  put  within 
it,  is  to  drown.  The  specific  influence  of  wine,  freely  drunk, 
is  io  intoxicate.  The  specific  influence  of  an  opiate  is  to 
stupefy.  The  specific  symbol,  influence  of  pure  w^ater,  or 
sea  water,  used  in  religious  rites,  is  to  purify. 

The  rising  sun  does  not  more  surely,  or  more  necessarily, 
bring  with  it  light,  than  does  this  Greek  word,  in  such  re- 
lations, bring  with  it  the  specific  conceptions  of  induced 
drowning,  drunkenness,  stupefaction,  and  purification. 
And  it  would  be  just  as  necessary  and  suitable  to  call  in 
the  help  of  an  old  broom  to  aid  the  sun  in  clearing  away 
the  mists  of  night,  as  to  call  in  the  help  of  figure  to 
illumine  a  usage  which  is  so  perfectly  self-resplendent. 

This  usage  justifies,  in  the  fullest  manner,  the  conclusion 
founded  on  the  preceding  passages,  and  goes  beyond  them, 
in  that  it  justifies  and  enables  us  to  employ  specific  terms, 
which  definitely  embody  the  influence  in  question,  as  the 
most  legitimate  translation  of  the  word,  used  absolutely, 
or,  of  a  phrase,  wath  which  it  is  in  living  union. 

Some  passages  justifying  this  view  will,  now,  be  pre- 
sented. 


SPECIFIC  INFLFENCE.  317' 


SPECIFIC  INFLUENCE. 


1.  Hv  Tu)  duToj  ^ap'idxio  -/.araijuZTCcra^, 

Achilles  Tatius,  Leuc.  and  Clit.,  ii,  31. 

2.  Bej3a~TcaOac  rs  r<o  d/.pdvM   .   .   .   duxscri, 

Athenceus;  Philos.  JBanq.,  v,  64. 

3.  EJt   kXeuGipa'^  a.(pi,v.v^  ^a~riffaq  ippw;j.ivw^, 

Athenceus;  Philos.  Banq.,  ix,  44. 

4.  "Ocvco  dk  tzoXXm  " AU^av^pov  [iar.ri<Taaa.  Conon  ;  Narrat.,  L. 

5.  BaTzriZ^i  S'u-vu)  ysirovi  rod  Oaydroo.     EvemiS  Paros;  Epigr.,  XV. 

6.  "Tdan  j3a7CTi^£Tac  .  .  .  udart  xaTa(T[isffOh.  Homeric  Alleg,,  p.  495. 

7.  Kaprj^apowTC  xat  (3ej3aiTTC<r/ii>oj  k'oixs.  Lucicin ;  Bacchus,  vii. 

8.  'AuTo^  ic/u  Twv ^Os<;  l3s,3a-TciT/j.ivcov.  Plato;  Ba7iquet,  \v. 

9.  Aai  iyuj  yvubc;  ^a-ri.'^uij.svuv  ro  pscpaxcuv.  Plato;  Euthedemus   vii. 

10.  Ba~T{!^ovreg  ix  ttcOcuv  /isydXwv   .   .   .   Ttpoi-tvnv. 

Plutarch;  Alexander,  Ivii. 

11.  Iipa:i:aXuj<n  yap  en  ro  yOi'^ov  xai  iS^^aTTTCfTpi^oci;. 

Plutarch;  Water  and  Land  Anim.j  xxiii. 

12.  Eoxpaffia  a<op.aroq  djdaTZTirjTou  xdi  eXatppou.     Plutarch ;  Banq.,  vi. 

13.  To  ds  ffoJpa  .    .   .  prJTiuj  jSejSaTZTLffp.ii'ov.  "  "    iii^  8. 

14.  BanrO^scv  rov  Jcovuffffov  npoq  rr^i/  OdXarrav.  "  Phys.  Ques.,  X. 

15.  Kat  ^oKTiauv  aeauTov  iiq  edkaffirav.      Plutarch;  Superstition,  iii. 

1.  Whom,  having  de-mersed  by  the  same  di'ug.  Achilles  Tatius. 

2.  You  seem  to  be  merged  by  unmixed  wine.  Athenceus. 

3.  Then,  mersing  powerfully,  he  set  me  free.  " 

4.  Having  mersed  Alexander  by  much  wine.   Conon. 

5.  Merses  by  a  sleep,  neighbor  of  death.    .     .  Evenus. 

6.  Merses  by  water.  .  .  .  quenched  by  water.  Homeric  Alleg. 

7.  Resembles  one  heavyheaded  and  mersed.  Lucian 

8.  I  myself  am  of  those  mersed  yesterday.     .  Plato. 

9.  I  knowing  the  youth  to  have  been  mersed.       " 

10.  Mersing  out  of  great  wine-jars,  drank  to  one  another. 

Plutarch. 

11.  Crippled  and  mersed  by  yesterday's  debauch.     " 

12.  A  good  temperament  of  the  body,  mimersed  and  active. 

Plutarch. 

13.  But  the  body  not  yet  mersed.    ...  " 

14.  To  merse  Bacchus  at  the  sea.      ...  " 

15.  And  merse  thyself,  (going)  to  the  sea.        .  " 


318  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

SPECIFIC  INFLTJENCE. 

STUPEFACTION. 

"  Satyrus  had  somewhat  left  of  the  drug  by  which  he 
had  put  Coiiops  to  sleep.  Of  this,  while  serving  us,  he 
pours,  secretly,  into  the  last  cup  which  he  brought  to 
Panthia.  She,  rising,  went  into  her  chamber  and  imme- 
diately slept.  But  Leucippe  had  another  chamber  servant, 
whom,  having  mersed  l)y  the  same  drug,  Satyrus  comes 
to  the  doorkeeper,  at  the  third  door;  and  him  he  cast  down 
by  the  same  potion,"  Achilles  Tatius. 

Four  cases  are  here  presented,  with  varying  phraseology, 
in  which  the  work  of  stupefaction  is  accomplished  by  an 
opiate  drug. 

Are  these  cases  all  spoken  of  under  the  form  of  figure? 
Are  some  presented  in  figurative  dress,  and  some  in 
literal  attire?  Or,  are  all  spoken  of  with  a  simple,  prosaic 
literality  ? 

If  all  are  figure,  by  what  figure  are  Conops  and  Panthia 
put  to  bed?  Does  the  drug,  under  figure,  perform  the 
ofifice  of  a  chamberlain  ? 

And  by  what  figure  is  the  doorkeeper  "  cast  down"  to 
the  ground?  Does  the  drug,  here,  represent  an  expert 
in  wrestling,  or  a  bludgeon,  or  what?  And  Leucippe's 
handmaid,  by  what  figure  is  she  "whelmed"  (Cojmnt), 
or  dipped,  as  Carson  would  insist?  Does  this  drug,  now 
(chameleon-like),  take  the  shape  of  a  "  mountain  wave," 
or  "a  rushing  torrent,"  or  a  weighty  bale  of  "'pothecary 
stuflE*,"  like  unto  the  bales  of  "taxes"  and  "debts,"  &c., 
which  we  have  seen  baptizing,  whelming,  dipping,  sinking 
60  many  heretofore  ? 

If  this  view  is  not  satisfactory,  is  there  a  mixture  of  the 
literal  and  figurative?  And  who  is  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility of  this  clay-iron  style  of  writing?  In  the  absence 
of  Tatius,  I,  as  his  nearest  friend,  beg  that  it  may  be  laid 
at  some  other  door  than  his. 


BAPTISM   BY   A   DRUG.  319 

Most  persons  will  see,  in  this  passage,  a  very  unembel- 
lislied  statement  of. the  controlling;  influence  of  this  dru£r: 
and  as  it  was  soporific  in  its  nature,  always  producing  one 
definite  effect,  they  will  recognize  the  propriety  of  trans- 
lating the  word  which  represents  this  influence  by  the 
specific  term — to  siupefu. 

DRUNKENNESS. 

"You  seem  to  me,  0  convivialists!  to  be  flooded,  be- 
yond expectation,  with  impetuous  words,  and  to  be  mersed 
by  unmixed  wine."  Athen^us. 

The  description  of  the  wine,  which  causes  this  mersion, 
as  "unmixed,"  determines,  in  the  most  absolute  manner, 
that  no  physical  "  whelming"  or  "dipping"  is  in  the  mind 
of  the  writer.  As  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  a  drowned 
man  whether  it  is  salt  water  or  fresh  water  that  drowns 
him,  so  it  is  of  no  consequence,  in  a  physical  mersion, 
whether  mixed  or  unmixed  wine  be  used.  But  when  the 
influence  of  wine,  as  an  intoxicating  di-ink,  is  in  question, 
then  it  is  a  matter  of  prime  importance  whether  it  is  the 
one  or  the  other.  As  Athenseus  lays  emphasis  on  the  wine 
as  without  any  mixture  of  water,  he  could  only  intend  to 
express  its  fullest  intoxicating  power.  Unmixed  wine, 
freely  used  by  convivialists,  invariably  produces  one  effect 
— makes  drunk — therefore,  the  word  which  embodies  such 
intoxicating  influence  may,  with  the  highest  propriety,  be 
translated  by  the  specific  word  expressive  of  drunkenness. 


"  Then  mersing,  powerfully,  he  set  me  free." 

Athen^tjs. 

"The  servant  girl,  describing  the  effect  of  a  cup  of  wine, 
given  by  her  master,  says :  '  Then  whelming  potently  he 
set  me  free.'"  (Conant.) 

Dr.  Conant,  in  making  pa-KTisa^  express  an  "  effect,"  be- 
comes exposed  to  the  charge  of  treason  to  the  cause,  as 
brought  by  Dr.  Carson.    "  Potently"  is  not  a  proper  quali- 


320  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

fying  term  for  dipping;  nor  for  whelming,  or  mersing,  or 
baptizing,  in  primary  use.  The  agency  may  be  potent, 
but  not  the  condition.  It  is,  entirely,  proper  as  character- 
izing the  secondary  use,  expressive  of  controlling  influence. 
A  specific  translation,  here,  is  more  than  justified. 


4.  "  Thebe  exhorted  to  the  murder,  and  having  mersed 
and  put  to  sleep  Alexander,  by  much  wine,  she  dismisses 
the  guards  of  the  bedchamber  under  pretext  of  using  the 
bath,  and  called  the  brothers  to  the  work."  Coijon. 

"  Having  immersed  Alexander  in  wine — that  is,  having 
made  him  drunk  with  wine"  [Carson). 

This  translation  shows  the  intenseness  of  theory,  while 
it  exposes  its  error. 

1.  "  Immersed."  This  word  is,  professedly,  used  as 
synonymous  with  dip.  This  profession  is  never  carried 
oat  in  practice,  nor  can  ever  be.  Here,  as  in  unnum- 
bered other  places,  dip  is  slipped  out  and  immerse  is 
slipped  in,  because  the  former  would  not  answer  the 
purpose.  To  "  dip  any  one  in  wine,"  for  the  purpose  of 
representing  a  state  of  drunkenness,  is  figure  wiiich  no 
thoughtful  person  ever  employed.  (1.)  Because  of  incon- 
sistency. Dipping  causes  but  a  trivial  effect,  while  drunk- 
enness is  one  of  power,  (2.)  Because  of  want  of  adapta- 
tion.    ]^othing  is  made  drunk  by  being  put  into  wnne. 

But  "immerse"  is  as  unsuitable,  for  other  reasons,  as 
dip.  ISTo  one  insists  more  strongly  than  Carson  that  the 
whole  person,  in  baptism,  must  go  within  the  element, 
consequently,  Alexander  must  go,  head  and  ears,  within 
the  wine;  and  when  there,  he  must  stay  there  long  enough 
to  imbibe  the  intoxicating  qualities  of  the  clement.  IIow 
long  this  will  take  I  cannot  say;  but  quite  probably  before 
he  gets  drunk  he  will  have  got  drowned.  Such  a  case 
shows  the  Baptist  error  of  confounding  a  dipping  with  a 
baptism.  The  qualities  of  wine  cannot  be  extracted  by  a 
dipping,  if  they  may  by  a  baptism.     It  shows,  also,  the 


BAPTISM    BY  WINE.  321 

essential  error  of  a  figure  whicli  represents  drunkenness 
by  immersing  a  Urinr/  being  in  wine.  A  condition  which  has 
no  tendency  to  make  drunk,  hut  which  must  drown. 

2.  ^'-  Much  wine."  3lucli  is,  significantly,  omitted  in  the 
translation.  It  has  no  fitness  in  announcing  a  physical 
mersion.  What  matters  it  whether  Alexander  were  physi- 
cally merscd  in  "  much  wine"  or  not?  There  is  no  signifi- 
cance in  any  quantity  beyond  what  will  barely  suffice. 
Dr.  Carson  felt  this,  and  throws  it  out.  But  this  word  is, 
eminently,  significant,  if  the  writer  means  directly  to  ex- 
press a  state  of  intoxication.  "  Much  wine"  gives  empha- 
sis to  the  infiuence  exerted. 

3.  "  In  wine."  The  introduction  of  in,  localizing  the 
t3'rant  of  Pherae  within  the  wine,  is  an  error  resulting 
from  the  previous  error  in  the  form  of  act  attributed  to 
the  verb.  If  dip  (or  its  claimed  equivalent,  immerse)  be 
associated  with  a  fluid,  that  fluid  necessarily  becomes  the 
element,  and  if  no  appropriate  preposition  is  furnished, 
one  must  be  supplied.  This  Dr.  Carson  has  found  it  ne- 
cessary to  do.  Error  begets  error.  This  construction,  with 
its  translation,  it  is  important  to  notice. 

In  the  phrase,  i^dr.-ero  S'aiij.an  Xi;jyrj,  the  translation  turns 
on  the  meaning  assigned  to  the  verb.  Take  the  old  Bap- 
tist position — i3dr.T(jD  has  but  one  meaning,  to  dip — and,  of 
necessity,  "  the  lake  becomes  dipped  in  blood."  It  is  all 
idle  to  talk  about  rhetoric,  bad  taste,  instrumental  dative, 
and  such  like  things,  so  long  as  the  prime  error  is  sus- 
tained. Abandon  this  error;  admit  that  ;3«-r«>  has  a  second- 
ary meaning  in  which  no  form  of  act  appears,  and  every 
other  error  is  carried  with  it.  And,  then,  we  liave — "the 
lake  DYED  hg  blood."  What  adifterence!  The  recfifica- 
tion  of  one  word  works  the  change.  Color  takes  the  place 
of  the  form  of  an  act;  instrumentality  takes  the  place  of 
locality;  and  literality  takes  the  place  of  figure. 

We,  thus,  see  what  vital  issues  depend  on  the  right  de- 
termination of  the  value  of  [-ia—r^M.     Has   it  "  but   one 

21 


322  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

meaning  tlirongli  all  Greek  literature — mode  and  nothing 
l»ut  mode — to  dip"  ?  Or,  is  it  devoid  of  all  modal  action — 
demanding  a  condition  of  intusposition  ?  And  does  it, 
with  a  parallelism  to  (Sd-rw,  lay  aside  this  primary  demand 
for  intusposition,  and  substitute  for  it  a  demand,  only,  for 
controlling  influence,  which  attends  on  some  phases  of  in- 
tusposition, as  djjeing  on  some  cases  of  dipping?  Apply 
the  one  view,  or  the  other,  to  a  passage,  quite  parallel  to 
that  just  mentioned — S-^w  7r> -«/;■>  f,Sd-T£^;i/ — and  ^^ plunged 
the  city  in  sleep,"  is  the  translation  promptly  offered  by 
the  advocates  of  the  first  view.  It  is  all  in  vain  to  plead 
ao'ainst  the  use  of  a  terra  expressive  of  violence  in  connec- 
tion with  sleep.  It  is  vain  to  speak  of  the  questionable 
rhetoric  which  picks  up  a  city  to  plunge  it  into  sleep.  It 
is  equally  in  vain  to  plead  for  instrumentality  in  the  dative. 
The  ear  is  deaf.  It  is  filled,  to  repletion,  with  "  one  mean- 
ing, modal  action,  dip,  plunge."  Accept  the  alternative 
view,  and — "the  city  is  ihoroughlg  influenced  by  sleep."  So 
long  as  the  old  error  in  defining  /?a--w  is  fastened  on  to 
/SctTTTi'^w,  we  must  have  errors  of  conception  and  translation 
in  the  latter  word  paralleling  those,  now  abandoned,  which 
mark  the  history  of  the  former  word. 

Carson  dips,  plunges,  immerses  Alexander  in  wine,  in- 
stead of  allowing  him  to  be  "  influenced  (made  drunk)  by 
wine."  lie  might  as  well  have  allowed  Gale  to  dip  the 
lake  in  blood,  and  not  have  insisted  on  its  being  influenced 
(dyed)  by  blood. 

Interpretation. — After  having,  most  loyally,  paid  trib- 
ute to  theory  and  system  by  introducing  modal  act  and 
figure  into  his  translation,  Carson  adds — "  that  is  having 
made  him.  drunk  with  wine."  With  this  admission  of  the 
meaning,  and  with  the  admission  of  Conant  (in  his  trans- 
lation, "  ?.t'/ie?me6?  loith  wine''),  that  there  was  no  dipping, 
even  in  the  figure,  we  may  be  satisfied  that  we  do  not 
greatly  err  in  the  position  that  influence  is  directly  ex- 
pressed, and  as  that  influence  can  take  but  one  form,  the 
translation  is  fiiithful  which  says,  "having  made  Alexander 
drardi  by  much  wine." 


BAPTISM    BY   WINE.  323 

This  baptism  claims  attention  in  other  aspects : 

1.  A  physical,  flnid  element  was  present  in  the  baptism 
and  causative  of  it,  while  there  was  no  phi/sical  mersion  in 
this  physical  element.  The  idea  of  a  figurative  mersion 
in  the  wine  drunk  is  untenable  in  every  aspect.  Carson 
would  not  put  Otho  in  his  debts;  why  will  he  put  Alex- 
ander in  his  cups,  or  in  his  casks?  But  enough  of  figure. 
No  one  pretends  that "  the  Tyrant"  was  physically  dipped, 
mersed,  or  drowned.  And  yet  a  fluid  clement  was  present, 
was  operative,  and  there  was  no  physical  mersion  in  it,  or 
in  anything  else,  although  we  are  told  by  controversialists, 
"Alexander  was  dipped,  immersed  in  much  wine." 

2.  There  was  a  baptism,  it  was  caused  by  this  fluid,  yet 
not  by  it  as  &  fluid. 

The  causative  power  of  wine  to  effect  this  baptism  was 
not  its  character  as  a  liquid.,  but  as  possessed  of  an  intoxicat- 
ing quality.  The  exercise  of  this  quality  over  the  husband 
of  Tliebe  did,  in  the  estimation  and  absolute  language  of 
the  Greeks,  baptize  him — merse  him — as  really  and  truly 
as  if,  instead  of  being  laid  in  his  chamber,  he  liad  been 
laid  in  the  lowest  cavern  of  the  sea.  The  nature  of  the 
baptisms  differs  :  the  reality  is  equal. 

3.  The  mode  of  using  this  baptizing  element  was  by 
drinking. 

Thus  is  its  power  to  baptize  developed.  The  skin  is 
bapted  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  falling  on  it.  The  intellect 
and  the  bodij  are  baptized  by  draughts  from  the  wine-cup. 

4.  Symbol  wine  baptism  may  be  set  forth  by  sprinkling 
the  intoxicating  element. 

"  Poure  out  the  wine  without  restraint  or  stay; 
Poure  not  by  cups,  but  by  the  belly  full ; 
Poure  out  to  all  that  wall, 

And  sprinkle  all  the  posts  and  wals  with  wine, 
That  they  may  sweat,  and  drunken  be  withal." 

^joenser,  Epithalamion. 


324  CLASSIC   BAPTISM, 

5.  "  Bacchus — wine — merses  by  sleep,  the  neighbor  of 
death."  Evenus. 

^^  Plimges  in  sleep,  neighbor  of  death"  {Conanf).  This 
form  of  translation  differs,  both  remarkably  and  unaccount- 
ably, from  the  very  uniform  translation  adopted  in  other 
cases,  identical  in  spirit  and  in  grammatical  structure.  I 
give  the  translation  of  all  the  passages  from  classical 
writers,  containing  the  simple  dative,  under  the  head, 
"  Fisfurative  Sense."  in  Br.  Conant's  classification. 

1.  "  Wlicrchy"  [L  e.  by  which  desertion)  "  the  city  would 
have  been  whelmed."  2.  "Whelmed  by  the  calamity."  3. 
"  "Whelmed  with  such  a  multitude  of  evils."  4.  "  Whelmed 
hy  anger."  5.  "  Whelm  the  common  people  with  taxes." 
6.  "Whelmed  with  debts."  7.  "Overwhelmed  by  such 
as  are  excessive."  8.  "  Whelmed  icith  undiluted  wine." 
9.  "Whelmed  with  much  wine."  10.  "  Imbathed  with 
much  wantonness."  11.  "  Wlielmed  witJi  him  in  his  grief." 
12.  "  When  midnight  had  plunged  the  cit}^  in  sleep." 

Thus,  in  every  passage  (but  one,  and  in  that  relating  to 
sleep),  the  translation  is  by  whelm,  and  with  the  preposi- 
tions (by,  with)  expressive  of  instrumentality.  "  Plunge  in 
sleep"  is  not  onlyout  of  harmony  with  Dr.  Conant's  trans- 
lations, but  with  the  facts  of  nature.  Br.  Cox  complains 
of  opponents  translating  hy  jyliwge,  because  that  word  ex- 
presses "suddenness  and  violence."  But  neither  "mid- 
night" nor  "wine""  does  "suddenly"  or  "violently" 
plunge  into  sleep.  Midnight  perfects  what  earlier  hours 
of  the  night  have  been  steadily  bringing  on.  Wine  does 
not,  primarily,  induce  sleep;  that  is  a  secondary  result; 
therefore,  it  cannot  be  characterized  as  sudden  or  violent. 

It  is  very  clear,  both  on'  general  views  of  the  meaning 
of  the  word  and  the  special  features  of  the  case,  that 
"plunge"  has  no  right  to  appear  here.  Bismissing  it, 
then  wo  have  no  difficulty  in  recovering  "  sleep"  from  its 
false  position  as  element,  and  instating  it  in  its  true  posi- 
tion, as  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Bacchus. 


BAPTISM    BY    SLEEP.  325 

The  alliance  of  a  drunken  sleep  with  death  is  founded 
in  nature. 

"Ne  would  ke  suffer  Sleepe  once  thether-ward 
Approch,  albe  his  drowsy  don  were  next; 
For  next  to  Death  is  Sleepe  to  be  compared ; 

Therefore  his  house  is  unto  his  annext."  Spenser. 


6.  "Since,  now,  a  mass  of  iron,  pervaded  with  fire, 
drawn  out  of  the  farnacc,  is  inersed  by  water,  and  the 
heat,  by  its  own  nature  quenched  by  water,  ceases." 

Homeric  Allegories. 

"  Since  the  mass  of  iron,  drawn  red-hot  from  the  fur- 
nace, is  plunged  in  water"  [Cunant). 

1.  It  is  as  certain  as  anything  in  philology,  that  "jolunge," 
distinctively,  as  expressing  a  form  of  action,  does  not  define 
^a-KTiZoi.  To  overflow^  as  expressing  a  form  of  action,  is  as 
near  the  contradictory  of  plunge  as  it  can  well  be;  yet 
overflow  is  used  by  Baptist  scholars  to  define  this  Greek 
word.  And  in  such  use  overflow  performs  its  duty,  to  say 
the  least,  as  faithfully  as  does  plunge.  But  it  is  a  philo- 
logical axiom,  that  where  two  diiferiug  forms  of  action 
can  be  employed  in  the  exposition  of  the  same  word,  such 
word  can  be,  strictly,  defined  by  neither. 

Plunge  has  no  right  to  appear  as  the  critical  representa- 
tive of /SaTTTcCw.  And  in  any  case  of  baptism  where  the  form 
of  act  is  not  expressly  stated  (it  can  never  be  learned  from 
the  word  itself),  it  is  entirely  inexcusable  for  any  one  to 
bring  forward  the  form  of  an  act,  insist  upon  its  autocratic 
rights,  and  fashion  the  phraseology  after  its  model. 

]^o  argument  can  be  grounded  on  the  assumption  of  a 
plunging. 

2.  The  simple  dative,  with  (Sa-riXw^  announces,  with  au- 
thority, the  presence  of  agency  and  not  of  element. 

There  is,  therefore,  no  authority  in  uSan  pa-nriUrai  for 
saying  that  hot  iron  is  '■'•  inlmged  in  water."     If  it  is  urged, 


326  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

in  defence,  that  water  is  capable  of  receiving  liot  iron  by 
plunging;  this  is  freely  admitted.  If  it  is  urged,  "hot 
iron  is  very  frequently,  in  fact,  plunged  in  water,"  this, 
too,  is  unhesitatingly  admitted.  And  after  all  else  can 
be  said,  the  reply  is  short  and  crushing — 1.  BaTrriZui  says 
nothing  about  plunging.  2.  Hot  iron  may  be  raersed  in 
other  ways  than  by  plunging.  3.  The  phraseology  indi- 
cates the  agency  by  which,  and  not  the  element  in  which, 
the  result  is  accomplished.  Rational  discussion  must  here 
end. 

Wine  is  capable  of  having  an  object  "plunged  in  it;" 
yet  Dr.  Conant  does  not  say  that  Alexander  was  plunged 
in  it,  in  fact,  but  whelmed  by  it.  A  soporific  p)otion  is  ca- 
pable of  having  an  object  plunged  in  it;  yet  Dr.  Conant 
does  not  say  that  Leucippe's  maid  was  so  treated;  but 
whelmed  with  it. 

3.  A  FLUID  ELEMENT  may  he  used,  as  an  agency,  in  baptism, 
and  accomplish  such  baptism,  without  involving  the  baptized  ob- 
ject in  a  physical  mersion. 

This  is  a  vital  position,  and,  if  made  good,  carries  every- 
thing with  it.  In  support  of  it,  now,  I  observe  :  1.  Wine, 
a  fluid  element,  has  already  been  seen,  as  an  agency,  to 
effect  a  baptism  without  any  physical  mersion.  "  But  this 
was  figurative,  and  mersion  is  supposed  to  be  in  it."  This 
is  an  error.  First.  There  is  no  sign  of  any  such  figure. 
Second.  The  wine  is  used  as  agency,  and  not  as  element. 
Third.  The  physically  mersing  quality  of  the  fluid  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  baptism.  It  is,  exclusively,  its  intoxi- 
cating quality  and  the  introduction  of  its  physical  quality  is 
a  huge  blunder.  "When  Alexander  was  brought,  through 
the  intoxicating  principle,  into  a  drunken  condiiion,  he  was 
baptized.  Call  this  figure,  if  you  will;  it  was  baptism  by 
a  fluid  clement,  in  which  its  nature  as  a  fluid  had  no  con- 
cern. A  distinctive  principle,  which  is  itself  devoid  of 
covering  qualities,  performed  the  baptism.  Wine  baptizes 
by  its  intoxicating  principle  solely;  robbed  of  this  it  ceases  to 
baptize.     Baptize  is  applied  to  the  case,  not  because  of 


BAPTISM    BY   WATER   WITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION.  327 

any  physical  investiture  of  the  object,  real  or  supposed,  but 
because  of  a  controllina;  influence. 

2.  An  opiate  potion,  a  fluid  element,  has,  also,  been  seen 
to  efiect  a  baptism  without  any  physical  mersion.  As  in 
the  case  of  wine,  the  fluid  character  of  the  agency  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  baptism.  Xo  one  has  suggested 
"  plunging"  the  doorkeeper  into  the  potion  to  put  him  to 
sleep;  and  into  the  wine  to  make  him  drunk.  Why  not? 
A  man  put  into  the  "  elixir  of  opium"  would  as  soon  be 
put  to  sleep,  as  one  put  into  a  wine-cup,  or  cask,  would  be 
made  drunk.  And  both  would  be  put  into  that  long  sleep 
which  "knows  no  waking."  But  the  physically  mersing 
qualit}-  of  this  drug-potion  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  case. 
It  is  limited,  solely,  to  the  soporific  principle.  Had  the 
drug  been  in  the  form  of  a  pill,  it  would  have  baptized 
equally  well.  But  what,  then,  would  have  become  of  the 
figure  by  which  the  baptized  are  to  be  "  plunged  in  "  a  pill? 
The  somnific  quality  of  a  potion  drunk  exhausts  its  bap- 
tizing power.  Fluidity  is  an  accident,  a  mere  vehicle  of 
the  controlling  influence. 

3.  Water,  by  its  deintoxicating  quality,  when  mixed 
with  wine,  baptizes  wine.  Does  it  do  so  by  any  physically 
mersing  quality?  All  such  notion,  through  figure  or  fact, 
is  put  to  flight  by  such  a  baptism. 

4.  Dr.  Fuller  admits  a  case  of  baptism  by  water  where 
the  drenchbifi  qualities  of  water  took  the  place  of  phj'sical 
mersion.  I  do  not  enter  into  the  case,  because  it  is  outside 
of  classic  writers;  but  I  glance  at  the  admitted  existence 
of  a  case  parallel  with  those  in  hand,  and  uniting  to  prove, 
that  a  quality  of  a  fluid  developed  in  a  controlling  degree 
over  its  object,  is  legitimately  termed  a  baptism.  Dr. 
Fuller  retreats  from  the  ruins  of  his  falling  system  with 
the  cry — "  The  writer  is  one  of  the  most  impassioned  of 
men!" 

5.  The  passage  before  us  sustains  the  position.  Water 
has  many  qualities  besides  that. which  adapts  it  for  physical 


328  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

envelopment.  It  will  make  very  wet,  as  in  Dr.  Fuller's  case, 
when  poured  on  profusely;  it  will  7nake umnioxicating when 
poured  in  wine;  and  it  will  make  cold,  when  poured  on  liot 
iron.  And  all  these  cases  of  controlling  influence,  apart 
from  physical  envelopment,  the  Greeks  called  baptisms. 

Heraclides  Ponticus  (if  the  writer  of  the  passage)  gives 
an  allegorical  representation  of  Mars,  Vulcan,  and  Nep- 
tune, under  the  symbols.  Iron,  Fire,  and  Water.  Mars 
(iron)  is  held  under  the  power  of  Vulcan  (tire);  but  Vulcau 
being  brought  under  the  power  of  Neptune  (water),  Mars 
is  set  at  liberty. 

The  point  involved  in  this  representation  is  not  whether 
water  can  physically  merse  iron,  but  the  relation  between 
heat  and  water.  The  writer  says  that  heat  is  of  such  a 
nature  that  it  is  mastered,  mersed,  completely  controlled 
by  water.  This  is  not  true  of  cold  iron.  Cold  iron  may  be 
mersed  in  water;  but  this  mersion  is  essentially  different 
from  the  mersion  of  hot  iron  by  water.  The  one  is  simply 
a  mersion  of  position.  Iron  may  be  mersed  a  thousand 
years  in  water  and  not  be  influenced  b}'  it.  The  other  is 
a  mersion  of  influence.  This  has  nothing  to  do  with  posi- 
tion. Hot  iron  is  mastered,  subdued,  influentially  bap- 
tized, robbed  of  its  heat,  by  water,  however  brought  in 
contact  with  it.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  rela- 
tion of  water  and  heat,  and  not  of  water  and  iron,  which 
is  involved.  The  live  chicken  of  the  Roman  poet  was 
mersed  by  wine  through  mersion  in  wine,  because  the 
influence  desired  (drowning)  could  not  be  secured  in  any 
other  way.  Alexander  was  mersed  by  wine,  not  by  mers- 
ing  in  wine;  because  the  influence  desired  could  not  be 
secured  in  this  way.  It  was  not  designed  to  have  the 
physically  mersing  quality  in  droirniiir/;  but  its  influentially 
mcrsing  quality  in  making  drunk.  Therefore,  Alexander 
was  not  mersed  in  the  wine,  but  the  wine  was  mersed  in 
Alexander.  It  was,  only,  thus  that  he  could  be  'mersed 
by  wine. 

Hot  iron,  when  desired  to  bo  brought  into  a  state  of 
coldness,  may  be  mersed  by  water  by  being  mersed  in 


BAPTISM   BY   WATER   WITHOUT   INTUSPOSITION.  329 

water;  or,  if  tlie  iron  be  hollow,  by  mersing  the  water  in 
tlie  iron;  or,  if  solid,  by  pouring  the  water  over  it;  or,  by 
sprinkling  the  water  upon  it.  It  is  a  matter  of  the  most 
absolute  indifference  how  the  water  is  applied ;  ^uttti^u} 
claims  no  control  over  it,  and  is  infinitely  indifferent  to  it. 
Although  physical  bodies  are  embraced  in  the  transaction, 
still,  physical  mersion  is  not  at  issue;  but  the  quality  of 
water  to  induce  a  condition  of  coldness  in  a  heated  body.  ISTo 
one  will  say,  that  to  induce  this,  physical  intusposition  is 
necessary.  Mersion  by  water,  and  mersion  in  water,  are 
two  vastl}^  different  statements.  Mersion  by  wine,  and 
mersion  in  wine,  are  equally  at  variance.  Mersion  by  a 
soporific  draught,  and  mersion  in  a  soporific  draught, 
idiocy,  onl}^,  could  confound. 

Heraclides  does  not  say  one  syllable  about  a  mersion  in 
•water.  He  says,  that  ^'■rcd  hot  iron  mersed  by  water" — 
brought  under  the  cold-inducing  quality  of  water — "  the 
heat  is  quenched  by  the  water,  and  ceases." 

The  use  of  the  word  must  not  be  made  the  occasiou  of 
error.  BanriXw,  second,  must  neither  be  deprived  of  its 
peculiar  rights  and  privileges,  nor  made  responsible  for 
duties  which  belong  exclusively  to  ^araiZoj,  first.  Banrt^w, 
like  fidTTTO),  is  geminal.  For  a  very  long  time  the  distinct 
personality  of  the  second  was  denied,  and  merged  in  the 
first.  "Whenever  the  second  /Sa-rw  appeared  he  was  made, 
will  or  nill,  to  dip,  by  figure.  And,  now,  the  second  ^a-ri'^ut 
is  made,  rationally  or  irrationally,  to  ind  under  icater,  by 
figure.  It  often  happens  that  heated  iron  is  of  such 
weisrht,  or  form,  or  in  such  relations,  that  it  cannot  be 
physically  mersed.  I  have  witnessed  such  cases  mersed — 
brought  out  of  a  hot  state  into  a  cold  state— by  water,  both 
poured  and  sprinkled. 

Spenser  seems  to  have  had  his  eye  on  the  very  passage 
before  us  when  he  wrote : 

"  And  hundred  furnaces  all  burning  bright 
To  melt  the  golden  metall,  ready  to  be  trj^do: 
One  with  great  bellowes  gathered  filling  ayre, 
And  with  forst  wind  the  I'cwoU  did  inflame  ; 


S30  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

Another  did  the  djnng  bronds  repayre 
"With  yron  tongs,  and  sjy/'inckled  oft  the  same 
With  liquid  waves ^ers  Vulcans  rage  to  tame, 
Who,  maystering  them,  renewd  his  former  heat." 

5.  Corollary. —  ^Mlcncl•cr  any  liquid,  jyossessed  of  a  qualify 
capable  of  exerting  a  conirolling  influence  of  any  kind  ivhatever, 
is  applied  to  an  object  so  as  to  develop  such  injiuence,  it  is  said, 
on  all  classical  authority,  to  baptize  that  object,  without  regard 
to  mode  of  application,  and  with  as  little  regard  to  physical 
position. 


7.  "  When  an  old  man  drinks,  and  Silenus  takes  pos- 
session of  him,  immediately,  he  is,  for  a  long  time,  silent, 
and  resembles  one  heavy-headed  and  mersed."      Lucian. 

This  passage  gives  the  clearest  evidence  for  a  secondary 
use  aud  sense.  Lucian  is  not  speaking  of  drinking  from 
a  wine-cup,  but  from  the  fountain  of  Silenas.  lie  does 
not  describe  directly  the  effect  of  such  drinking,  except  as 
to  its  inducing  "silence;"  in  other  respects,  he  says,  the 
drinker  "resembles  one  heavy-headed  and  mersed." 

In  this  statement,  ^anri'^u}  is  joined  with  a  word  which, 
in  its  literal,  primary  meaning,  expresses  one  of  the  feat- 
ures of  wine-iulluence  over  the  system, — "  heavy-headed- 
ness."  It  is  incredible  that  a  reference  to  intoxication 
would  thus  mix  up  together  the  literal  and  the  figurative. 
If  "  heavj'-head"  is  literal,  "mersed,"  also,  is  literal. 
Airain:  TVe  use  for  illustration  thing's  well  known,  to 
throw  light  on  things  less  known.  "  Ileavy-headedness 
and  mersion,"  therefore,  must  have  been  things  well  un- 
derstood, as  they  are  the  illustrative  explanation  of  the 
influence  exerted  upon  those  drinking  of  the  Silenic  fount. 
ISTow,  these  terms  are  used  by  Lucian  to  express  a  state 
of  intoxication.  They  must,  therefore,  have  been  in  fa- 
miliar use,  with  such  meaning.  The  language  bears,  on 
its  face,  evidence  of  well-worn,  every-day  use.  "Mersed" 
is  used  absolutely  and  as  self-explanatory.     A  coin  worn 


BAPTISM    BY   DRINKING,   AT   A   FOUNTAIN.  331 

smooth  by  use,  a  golden  eagle  with  the  bird  of  Jove  worn 
away  by  attrition  in  passing  through  the  hands  of  the  mil- 
lion, does  not  more  fully  self-evidence  long  and  familiar  use, 
than  does  this  phraseology  prove  every-day  familiarity  to 
the  popular  lip  and  ear. 

But  again:  The  idea  of  figure  is  precluded,  because 
resemblances  are  not  traceable  between  facts  and  fijrures. 
Figure  cannot  be  the  basis  of  figure.  If  Lucian  uses  the 
condition  of  mersion  to  expound  some  other  condition, 
then  the  condition  expressed  by  mersion  must  be  a  reality, 
and  not  the  figure  of  something  else. 

We,  then,  have  the  case  of  a  man  not  only  baptized  by 
a  fluid  element,  but  at  a  fountain  without  any  mersion 
in  it. 

"What  higher  evidence  we  could  have  that  the  Greeks 
appropriated  this  word  to  express  a  state  of  drunkenness, 
I  do  not  know. 


8.  "  For  I  myself,  am  of  those  who,  yesterday,  were 
mersed."  Plato. 

Again,  we  have  the  absolute  use  of  the  word  without 
the  slightest  indication  of  a  picture  or  a  comparison.  Lan- 
guage could  not  be  used  more  deeply  stamped  with  the  evi- 
dence of  self-completeness.  Yet  Dr.  Carson  says:  "  AVhen 
baptizo  is  applied  to  drunkenness  it  is  taken  figuratively; 
and  the  point  of  resemblance  is  between  a  man  completely 
under  the  influence  of  wine  and  an  object  completelj^  sub- 
jected to  a  liquid  in  which  it  is  completely  immersed"  (p. 
80).  It  is  an  error  to  say,  "  a  man  completely  under  the 
influence  of  wine  resembles  an  object  completely  immersed 
in  water."  Because,  1.  There  is  nothiug  in  the  former 
case  to  which  the  envelopment  in  the  latter  can  be  resem- 
bled. Wine  does  not  exert  its  intoxicating  influence  by  the 
envelopment  of  its  object.  2.  Envelopment  of  an  object 
in  water  does  not  necessarily  exert  an  influence  over  the 
immersed  object.    A  flint  stone,  immersed  in  water,  experi- 


332  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

ences  uo  influence  from  tlie  enveloping  fluid.  3.  "When 
the  object  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  influenced  by  such 
position,  as  a  man  suflbcated  by  encompassing  water,  there 
can  be  no  resemblance  to  such  position ;  because  a  drunken 
man  is  in  no  analogous  position.  The  resemblance  must 
be  confined  to  the  influence,  to  the  exclusion  of  position 
inducing  such  influence;  and  in  the  influence  there  must 
be  a  farther  limitation  :  its  specific  character  must  be  dis- 
regarded; for  there  is  no  resemblance  between  the  spe- 
cific influence  of  wine  drunk,  and  the  specific  influence  of 
water  over  a  man  immersed  in  it.  There  is,  then,  noth- 
ing left  but  the  controlling  j)ower  as  common  to  the  one 
and  the  other.  Wine,  in  its  fully  developed  influence, 
sways  a  comjylete  and  controlling  influence  over  the  intellect 
and  body;  water  sways  a  comjylete  and  controlling  influence 
over  a  living  man  immersed  in  it.  There  is  no  resem- 
blance between  the  mode  in  which  the  influence  is  exerted, 
for  there  is  no  resemblance  between  drinking  and  immer- 
sion ;  there  is  no  resemblance  in  the  specific  influence, 
for  there  is  no  resemblance  between  drunkenness  and  suf- 
focation; the  resemblance  is,  and  only  is,  in  controlling 
power :  the  wine  controls  human  intellect,  the  water  con- 
trols human  life. 

This  is  the  original  ground  on  which  the  word  became 
applied  in  secondary  use;  but  to  say  that  every  use  through 
a  thousand  years  must  carry  a  designed,  or  an  appre- 
hended, resemblance,  is  to  set  at  naught  endless  facts  and 
clearest  principles  in  the  development  of  language.  All 
resemblance  might  be  expected  to  disappear,  first,  from 
the  form  of  utterance;  then,  from  conscious  intellectual 
apprehension,  leaving  behind,  only,  the  abstract  thought 
of  controllino;  influence.  The  facts  of  usasre  show  that 
such  was  the  case.  An  advance  step  would  give  the  word, 
by  frequent  appropriation,  a  specific  character.  This  seems 
to  have  been  done,  as  in  this  and  other  passages,  by  its 
identification  with  wine-influence.  "  I  was  of  those,  yes- 
terday, mersed — ina^le  drunk." 

The  perfectly  analogous  development  of  fidTrru)  has  al- 


BAPTISM    BY   WINE.  333 

ready  been  pointed  out.  Dr.  Conant  translates:  "I  my- 
self am  one  of  those  who,  yesterday,  were  overwhelmed." 
By  this  translation  he  fxills  under  the  ban  of  Carson,  who 
affirms,  "  The  classical  meaning  of  the  word  is,  in  no  in- 
stance, overwhelm"  (p.  311).  "Whence  this  contradiction 
between  the  ablest  Controversialist  and  the  Scholar  with- 
out a  superior  among  Baptists,  in  regard  to  a  word  of 
"  one  meaning,  easily  understood,  and  to  make  a  difficulty 
in  translating  which  is  all  a  pretence"?  Carson  rejects 
"  overwhelm,"  because  the  word  means  the  definite  act, 
"dip  and  nothing  but  dip,  through  all  Greek  literature;" 
a  'position  lohieli  icill  nexer  he  maintained  again  by  any  scholar 
of  half  the  learning  of  Carson,  after  looking  through  the 
facts  of  usage.  This  is  not  Conant's  position.  But  what 
his  position  is,  is  left  in  obscurity  by  the  commingling  of 
the  inconsistent  terms,  dip  and  plunge,  severely  modal  in 
form  of  act,  and  the  use  of  immerse,  immerge,  and  sub- 
merge, equivocal  as  to  form  of  action;  as,  also,  by  the  use 
of  the  terms  whelm,  overwhelm,  irabathe,  immodal  as  to 
act,  but  having  a  secondary  use  expressive  of  controlling 
influence,  while  such  use  is  denied. 

In  the  passage  before  us,  as  an  English  word,  "  over- 
whelm" can,  only,  have  the  meaning  of  controlling  in- 
fluence. To  say  that  it  does,  and  is  designed  to  figure 
"  mountain  billows,  rushing  torrents,  sweeping  inunda- 
tion, sinking  with  a  millstone  weight  in  deep  water,"  is 
preposterous.  The  meaning  of  controlling  influence  is 
sustained  by  the  ciuotation  given  by  Conant:  "  In  this  use, 
the  Greek  word  corresponds  to  the  English  word  drench. 
So,  Shakspeare,  Macbeth,  i,  7,  (speaking  of  the  '  spongy 
officers'  plied  'with  wine  and  wassail,')" 

"  When  in  swinish  sleep 
Their  drenched  nature  lies." 

m  a  note.  Dr.  Conant  adds :  "  Icelandic,  drechia,  to  plunge 
in  water;  Swedish,  draenca,  same  sense;  also,  io  drown. — 
Did.  of  Eng.  Elymol.,  Wedgewood."  lie  might  have  forther 
added,  Saxon,  drenccan,  to  soak,  to  inebriate;  Dutch,  dren- 


834  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

ken,  to  water,  to  soak.  Is  any  support,  herein,  given  to 
the  idea  that  "overwhehii"  means  to  plunge,  or  to  be 
swept  away  by  billows  and  torrents?  Is  it  not  established 
that  "drench"  has  a  secondary  meaning,  and  a  specific 
appropriation  like  /JaTrrttw,  to  express  "drowning"  and  in- 
ebriety? 

Drench,  like  par^riZu),  expresses  no  form  of  act,  but  con- 
dition. The  condition  demanded  may  be  effected  by  an}^, 
competent,  form  of  act;  whether  it  be  that  of  sprinkling, 
pouring,  dipping,  plunging,  sinking,  whelming,  or  what 
not.  "  Drench  with  water"  is  a  command,  not  to  execute 
a  form  of  action,  but  to  effect  a  certain  condition ;  to  loet 
ihorougldu,  to  bring  completely  under  the  wetting  quality 
of  water.  "Drench  with  wine"  is  a  command,  not  to 
subject  to  the  wetting  quality  of  wine,  but  to  bring  com- 
pletely under  its  intoxicaiing  quality  by  drinking.  "Drench 
with  rhubarb"  is  neither  to  make  wet,  nor  to  make  drunk, 
but  to  bring  fully  under  its  jnirgatwe  quality. 

Dr.  Conaiit  is  right  in  saying  "the  Greek  word  corres- 
ponds to  the  English  word  drench,"  inasmuch  as  drench 
expresses,  1.  Condition,  and  not  the  form  of  an  act.  2. 
Completely  developed  influence.  3.  Appropriation  to 
drowning  and  drunkenness.  lie,  therefore,  errs  when  he 
translates  the  Greek  word  by  "  overwhelm,"  using  it  in 
any  other  sense  than  that  of  complete  influence,  unless  he 
will  attach  to  it  the  Saxon  idea  "  to  inebriate,"  and  admit 
that  /SaTTTc'Cw  has  secured  to  itself  the  power  to  express, 
directly,  a  condition  of  intoxication. 

TO    BEWILDER. 

9.  "  I  knovv'ing  that  the  youth  was  mersed,  wishing  to 
relieve  him."  Plato. 

Cleinias,  a  young  man,  in  company  with  some  sophists, 
was  hopelessly  embarrassed  by  a  series  of  subtle  questions 
addressed  to  him.  And,  on  this  foundation,  shall  we 
sketch  a  picture  of  a  youth  exposed  to  rolling  billows  and 


BAPTISM   BY   QUESTIONS.  335 

sweeping  torrents?  If  Gale  was  justly  liable  to  the  charge 
of  a  "  monstrous  perversion  of  taste,"  in  clipping  a  lake 
into  a  frog's  blood,  to  avoid  a  secondary  meaning  to  (id-rco; 
what  shall  be  said  of  those  who  will  take  Cleinias  from 
his  entangling  questions  to  drown  him  in  the  sea,  in  order 
to  escape  a  secondary  meaning  to  /Ja-rj^w? 

If  usage  like  this  does  not  prove  an  absolute  departure 
from  water  mersion,  both  in  fact  and  in  figure,  what  can 
prove  it? 

To  baptism,  thus  exhibited,  there  is  but  one  idea  to  be 
attached ;  it  is  that  of  bewilderment.  And  this  case  shows 
the  greatness  of  the  error,  when  a  figure  is  attempted,  in 
bringing  water  envelopment,  or  any  specific  influence  flow- 
ing from  it,  into  the  foreground  of  the  picture.  What  has 
"bewilderment"  to  do  with  immersion  in  water  or  with 
suffocation?  Understood  to  express,  generally,  controlling 
influence,  it  has  a  facile  adaptation  to  any  case,  of  what- 
ever nature,  marked  by  such  influence.  One  bewildered 
by  questions,  or  drunk  with  wine,  is,  equally,  a  baptized 
man.     They  are  brought  info  new  conditions  of  being. 

TO    MAKE    DRUNK. 

10.  "You  would  not  have  seen  a  shield,  or  a  helmet,  or 
a  long  pike ;  but  soldiers  mersing  with  bowls  and  cups 
and  flagons,  along  the  whole  way,  pledged  one  another  out 
of  large  wine-jars  and  mixing  vessels." 

"  El.deq  S"  uv  ov  tzHztjv,  ou  xpayor^  ob  ffdptana'y  akla  <piaXai':  xai 
puTol^,  xai  OrjptxXsiocq  ~apd  rijv  vddv  a-a<rav  vc  GrpaziaJrat  l^a-rH^ovre';, 
ix  iziOwv  //.syaAwi'  zal  xparrjpujv  aXXrjXoi^  -puizr^o'^."  Plutarch. 

The  historian  is  speaking  of  the  riotous  march  of  Alex- 
ander's army,  through  a  region  of  abundance,  after  the 
perils  and  suiFerings  of  the  homeward  march  from  their 
Eastern  conquests. 

"  The  soldiers  along  the  whole  way  dipping  with  cups 
and  horns  and  goblets,  from  great  wine-jars  and  mixing- 
bowls,  were  drinking  to  one  another"  {Conant). 

Dr.  Conant  mentions  a  doubt  expressed  by  Du  Soul  as 


•336  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

to  the  correctness  of  the  reading,  (^a-riXo'^rtq,  on  the  ground 
of  its  construction  with  h  -iOojv.  lie  thinks,  however,  that 
the  difRcultj  is  obviated  by  the  suggestion  of  Coray,  "a 
part  of  the  action  is  put  for  the  whole,  as  one  must  dip 
the  vessel  in  order  to  fill  it." 

The  difficulty  arises  from,  and  the  explanation  proceeds 
on  the  assumption,  that  the  word  signifies  to  dip;  which 
is  a  mistake.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  cups,  used  for 
drinking,  were  filled  by  being  dipped  into  the  wine;  but 
Phitarch  says  nothing  about  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  filled.     "We  must  not  confound  pja-ri^m  with  jSdKToj. 

In  the  edition  of  Plutarch,  before  me,  there  is  a  comma 
after  /SaTrTttcvT-? ;  showing  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  editor, 
there  was  no  immediate  logical  or  grammatical  connection 
between  that  word  and  h  -niOwv.  According  to  the  punctua- 
tion of  this  edition,  and  without  changing  the  Greek  order, 
it  would  read,  "but  with  bowls  and  cups  and  flagons,  along 
the  whole  way  the  soldiers  mersing,  out  of  large  wine-jars 
and  mixing-vessels,  drank  to  one  another;  "  or,  the  soldiers 
drank  to  one  another,  out  of  large  wine-jars  and  mixing- 
vessels,  with  bowls  and  cups  and  flagons,  along  the  whole 
way,  mersing  (making  drunk  one  another).  BaizTt!^oj,  in  the 
sense  to  make  drunk,  is  entirely  familiar  to  Plutarch. 
The  translation,  "  dipping,"  is  entirely  without  authority 
from  use,  as  has  been  shown;  and  as  is  confirmed  by  this 
construction  so  impracticable  on  that  view.  Yet  Dr. 
Puller  translates — ^Ulippivr/  with  cups  ....  out  of  large 
casks;"  adding,  "dipping  wine  out  of  casks  is  here  called 
baptizing  out  of  casks  and  urns."  Bapibuj  out  of  casks 
(although  this  is  not  said),  might  be  expounded,  but  "  bap- 
tizing out  of  casks"  does  not  admit  of  exposition.  Be- 
sides, Dr.  Fuller  seems  to  be  entirely  oblivious,  that  he 
had  before,  right  squarely,  turned  his  back  on  dipping  as 
a  sense  beyond  defence.  At  the  sea-coast  baptism  the 
Doctor  separated  himself  from  the  defeated  dippers,  and 
raised  a  banner  for  himself,  exclaiming — "  My  position  is 
that  baptize  means  immerse."  "What  has  become  of  that 
position  in  this  '■'■  dipping  out  of  casks,  called  baptizing  (im- 


BAPTISM    BY   WINE,,  337 

mersing?)  out  of  casks"?  Oh!  this  slipping-  one  word 
into  the  place  of  another  to  meet  an  exigency!  Look  at 
this  translation,  by  dipping,  to  escape  an  immersion,  and, 
then,  at  the  following  statements,  made,  in  triumph,  to 
escape  from,  impossible,  dipping:  "Every  candid  reader 
will,  I  think,  grant  that  I  have  ascertained  the  meaning 
of  Baptizo.  It  signifies  to  immerse,  and  has  no  other  mean- 
ing" (p.  251).  "To  any  man  it  ought  to  be  enough  that 
I  have  proved  the  onhj  meaning  of  Baptizo  to  be  immerse " 
(p.  58).  "Well ;  and  if  immerse  has  been  'proved  against  dip- 
ping, what  about  '■'■dipping  owt  of  casks"  "called  baptiz- 
ing"? The  Doctor  has  two  strings  to  his  bow.  Politi- 
cians have  a  word,  "  gerrymandering,"  to  denote  all 
manner  of  crookednesses.  The  full  power  of  this  word 
will  be  taxed  to  express  the  ins  and  outs  of  Baptist  writers 
in  jotting  down  the  "  one  only  meaning  of /Ja-r^w  tlirough 
all  Greek  literature." 

"When  Plutarch  uses  this  Greek  word,  in  connection 
with  the  drunken  rout  described,  he  undoubtedly  uses  it, 
as  lie  does  elsewhere,  to  express  the  controlling  influence 
of  the  wine,  which  was  ilowing  like  water. 


11.  "  The  nobleman  being  sober,  as  you  see,  and  pre- 
pared, sets  upon  us  debauched  and  mersed  from  yester- 
day. Pltjtarch. 

There  is  an  express  contrast  made  between  one  in  a 
state  of  sobriety  and  others  in  a  state  of  inebriety.  Drunk- 
enness presents  various  stages  and  phases.  It  is  to  its  later 
developments  that  reference  is,  here,  made. 

How  dipping  into  water  is  to  be  made,  by  figure,  to 
illustrate  such  a  passage,  I  leave  for  others  to  ex[)lain. 
The  contrast  of  the  sober  man  and  the  drunken  man;  the 
association  of  xpat-a).duj  with  iSa-ri^uj;  and  the  reference  to 
"yesterday,"  would  seem  to  call  for  some  other  element 
than  water. 

It  is  impossible  to  find  resemblance  between  the  action 

22 


838  .CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

of  drinking  and  the  action  of  dipping;  for  there  is  none. 
It  is  impossible  to  find  resemblance  between  the  mode  in 
which  wine  (drinking)  exerts  its  influence,  and  the  mode  in 
which  water  (enveloping  its  object)  exerts  its  influence; 
for  there  is  none.  It  is  impossible  to  find  any  resemblance 
between  the  nature  of  wine  influence  and  the  nature  of  water 
influence;  for  there  is  none. 


12.  "  A  great  resource,  truly,  for  a  pleasant  day  is  a 
good  temperament  of  body  un-merscd  and  unburdened." 

Plutakch. 

This  remark  is  based  on  the  benefit  consequent  upon  an 
abstemious  mode  of  living.  An  unmersed  body  is  one 
not  under  the  influence  of  wine.  An  unburdened  body 
is  one  under  the  influence  of  a  cheerful  spirit. 


13.  "  Of  those  slightly  intoxicated  only  the  intellect  is 
disturbed;  but  the  body  is  yet  able  to  serve  its  impulses, 
being,  not  yet,  mersed."  Plutarch. 

"  For  of  the  slightly  intoxicated  onl}-  the  intellect  is  dis- 
turbed; but  the  body  is  able  to  obey  its  impulses,  being 
not  yet  overwhelmed"  [Conant). 

The  word  translated  "  slightly  intoxicated,"  axpoewpd/Mv^ 
means,  literally  and  primarily,  "slightly  arrned ;"  yet  Dr. 
Conant  does  not  hesitate  to  translate  it  as  having,  also, 
the  direct  meaning,  "  slightly  intoxicated."  Is  there  any 
better  reason  for  giving  a  secondary  meaning  to  one  of 
these  words  rather  than  to  the  other?  If  the  former 
means  "  slightly  intoxicated,"  must  not  the  latter,  of  ue- 
cessit}^,  mean  thoroughlu  intoxicated  ?  Does  Plutarch  say, 
the  intellect  yields,  in  the  first  stages  of  drunkenness, 
while  the  body  yields  only  in  the  later  stages,  when  it  is — 
dipped  in  ivatcr  ? 

Dr.  Conant  quotes  another  passage  entirely  parallel  with 


BAPTISM    OF   BACCHUS.  339 

this,  but,  if  possible,  still  clearer  and  more  conclusive  for 
our  interpretation  ;  but  which  I  do  not  adduce,  because 
not  within  the  limits  of  those  writers  to  which  I,  now, 
restrict  myself.  The  passage  is  from  Philo,  and  is  trans- 
lated thus  :  "  And  I  know  some,  who,  when  they  become 
slightly  intoxicated"  [a-^poOwpay.eq^  slightly  armed),  "before 
they  are  completely  overwhelmed  (baptized),  provide  by 
contribution  and  tickets  a  carousal  for  the  morrow"— 
{Conant). 

Any  one  who  can  accept  this  as  saying — "w^hen  they 
become  slightly  intoxicated,  before  they  become  over- 
whelmed— as  it  were  dipped  in  icater — provide  for  a  carousal 
next  day" — need  have  no  difficulty  in  rejecting  the  sec- 
ondary meaning  of  iSdrrru),  and  accepting  the  lake  dipping 
in  frog's  blood. 

All  others  will  confess  that  ISa-r{!:(o  has  acquired  the 
power  to  express,  directly,  the  influence  of  wine  to  make 
drunk.  The  evidence  for  this  is  overwhelming — not,  "  as 
it  were,  dipped  in  water,  or  sunk  by  a  weight,  or  whelmed 
by  a  torrent" — but  as  adequate  to  exercise  an  influence 
controlling  the  judgment. 


14.  "Wliy  do  they  pour  in  beside  the  wine  sea-water, 
and  say  that  fishermen  received  an  oracle  commanding 
them  to  merse  Bacchus  by  the  sea?"  Plutarcu. 

"  Why  do  they  pour  sea-water  into  wine  ...  to  merse 
Bacchus  in  (or  at)  the  sea?"  (Conant).  A  note  is  appended, 
in  which  is  quoted  the  statement — "  To  immerse  Bacchus 
is  nothing  else  than  to  temper  wine." 

Here  is  a  baptism  commanded  by  divine  (according  to 
their  notions)  authority.  Dr.  Conant  says,  it  is  a  literal, 
physical  (such  is  the  caption)  baptism.  "We  are,  then, 
happily,  out  of  the  land  of  figures.  IIow  was  this  oracle- 
command  to  baptize  Bacchus  obeyed  ? 

1.  As  to  Bacchus.  We  learn  that  Bacchus  has  no  per- 


340  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

sonality,  but  only  stands  as  representative  for  wine.    Well, 
then,  the  command  is  to  baptize  loine.     How  is  this  done  ? 

2,  ^5  to  the  sea.  It  is  to  be  done  "by  the  sea."  Whether 
this  means  locality,  only,  or  directly  declares,  or  indirectly 
suggests,  the  means  of  the  baptism,  all  will  admit  that  there 
is  enough  of  appropriate  element  at  hand  for  any  amount 
of  dipping,  or  any  measure  of  immersion.  IIow  was  it 
used  ?  Wine,  in  a  bottle,  skin,  or  cask,  is  as  capable  of 
being  dipped  or  immersed  in  the  sea,  or  of  being  whelmed, 
"in  the  literal,  physical  sense,"  as  any  other  thing.  And 
such,  we  are  told,  is  the  only  mode  of  literal  baptism,  and 
to  this  only  one,  all  figurative  baptisms  must  \>q  jyrocrusted. 
Was  such  the  style  of  this  Bacchus  baptism  ? 

3.  As  to  baptize.  Dr.  Carson  says,  I  will  make  the  word 
baptize  find  me  water,  enough  to  dip  in,  amid  a  sandy 
desert.  The  word  need  not  go  far,  then,  when  standing 
on  the  sandy  shore  of  the  sea,  to  find  sufficient  for  every 
demand.  Does  it  make  use  of  it  for  "  dipping"  Bacchus? 
Does  the  fisherman  take  his  wine-vessel,  in  his  boat,  out 
far  enough,  and  honestly  dip  it,  putting  in  a  short  distance, 
and,  then,  promptly  recovering  it  ?  Or,  as  honestly  bap- 
tize it  by  putting  it  under  without  regard  to  a  recovery? 
The  one  way  is  baptirtg,  the  other  way,  unquestionably,  is 
one  mode  of  baptizing;  and  if  there  be  "but  one  mode," 
then  it  is  the  only  mode.  Is  this  the  fishermen's  mode 
of  baptizing  Bacchus  ?  Plutarch  says  not.  He  declares 
that  as  he  was  ensconced  in  the  goblet  they  took  water 
from  the  sea  and  poured  it  over  him.  "  True,  they  poured 
the  sea-water  over  him,  but  pouring  is  not  baptizing;  yet, 
if  you  pour  long  enough  and  cover  him  all  over,  there  wnll 
be  a  baptism  "  [Fidler).  I  do  not  think  the  pouring  was 
"  long  enough."  I  rather  think  that  Bacchus  would  have 
resisted  the  mode  as  heretical  and  un-Greekly.  Had  it 
been  persisted  in  "long  enough,"  I  think  that  he  would 
have  overleaped  the  goblet's  brim,  and  utterly  refused  to 
be  "covered  over,"    In  plain  English,  covering  over  wine, 


BAPTISM   OF  BACCHUS.  341 

by  pouring  water  into  it,  cannot  be  done.  The  baptism 
must  be  sought  in  another  direction. 

Dr.  Fuller  admits,  that  an  altar  on  which  water  was 
poured,  without  being  "poured  long  enough  to  cover  it," 
was,  still,  said  to  be  baptized;  because  it  was  "drenched." 
Will  Dr.  Fuller  admit  that  wine  is  "drenched"  bj  water 
poured  into  it,  although  not  "  poured  long  enough  to  cover 
it"  ?  Dr.  Fuller  has  progressed  from  dipping  to  immers- 
ing, and  from  immersing  to  pouring  long  enough  to  cover, 
and  from  pouring  long  enough  to  cover,  to  pouring  long 
enough  to  drench;  will  he  take  one  more  step  in  advance 
(it  is  all  that  I  care  for  him  to  take),  and  pass  on  from 
"  pouring  long  enough  to  drench,"  to  pouring  long  enough 
to  change  the  quality  or  condition,  of  an  object  ? 

Let  this  be  granted  by  Baptist  brethren,  and  the  ma- 
terial for  controversy  on  this  subject  will  be  exhausted. 

Does  the  case  before  us  necessitate  such  acknowledg- 
ment ?     I  think  that  it  does,  most  unmistakably. 

1.  It  is  a  fact,  that  Bacchus  (v/ine)  was  commanded  to 
be  baptized. 

2.  It  is  a  fact,  that  under  this  command  water  was 
poured  into  wine. 

3.  It  is  a  fact,  that  water  thus  poured  into  wine  exercises 
a  controlling  influence  over  it;  "tempers  it;"  changes  its 
character;  takes  away  its  intoxicating  quality;  removes  it 
out  of  the  class  of  intoxicating  liquids  into  the  class  of  un- 
intoxicating  liquids ;  changes  its  condition. 

4.  It  is  a  fact  that  such  baptism  is  in  completest  har- 
mony with  the  exposition  of  the  baptism  of  hot  iron  by 
pouring  water  on  it:  it  controls  its  pecuhar  quality  of 
heat;  changes  its  character ;  makes  it  cold;  brings  it  into 
a  new  condition. 

5.  It  is  a  fact,  that  such  baptism  accords,  most  fully,  with 
the  exposition  given  of  drunken  baptism  by  pouring  wine 
into  a  man;  it  controls  him  ;  changes  his  character;  makes 
him  irrational;  removes  him  out  of  sobriety  into  inebriety. 


342  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

6.  It  is  a  fact,  that  Dr.  Conaut  places  tins  among  "literal, 
physical "  baptisms.  We  are  happ}^  to  have  his  high  author- 
ity for  such  a  truth.  It  has  onr  very  cordial  concurrence. 
There  is  no  clipping,  no  plunging,  no  immersing,  but  there 
is  a  controlling  influence  exerted  over  an  object;  and  that, 
whether  it  be  by  putting  water  into  wine,  or  wine  into  a 
man,  or  water  upon  hot  iron,  is  true  and  literal  baptism, 
if  the  usage  of  classical  Greek  writers  is  of  any  authority. 

Wine  made  uniutoxicating  by  water  poured  into  it,  is 
baptized  wine.  / 

PURIFICATION, 

15.  "  Call  the  purifying  Old  Woman,  and  merse  thyself 
(going)  to  the  sea,  and  remain  all  day  sitting  on  the 
ground."  Plutarch. 

This  baptism  differs  from  all  others  which  have  claimed 
our  attention  (unless  it  be  the  baptism  of  Bacchus),  in  that 
it  is  a  religious  baptism.  The  passage  constitutes  the 
counsel  given  to  one  who  had  been  disturbed,  and  was 
supposed  to  be  defiled,  by  ill  dreams.  Sea-water  is  to  be 
used  for  the  sake  of  its  purifying  influence. 

"Plunge  yourself  into  the  sea"  [Conant).  "Baptize 
yourself  into  the  sea — this  baptism,  also,  must  be  by  im- 
mersion" [Carson). 

1.  It  will  be  ray  endeavor  to  show  that  neither  of  the 
specific  forms  of  action,  "  plunging  into  the  sea," — "  dip- 
ping into  the  sea," — is  stated,  or  of  necessity  required,  by 
the  text. 

2.  To  show  that,  no  specific  form  of  action  being  stated, 
it  is  wholly  beyond  our  power  to  know  (therefore  with 
propriety  to  afiirm)  by  what  form  of  action  this  baptism 
was  consummated. 

3.  To  state  a  possible  way  in  which  it  may  have  been 
done. 

1.  There  is  nothing  in  the  passage  to  indicate  the  form 
of  the  act  but  ^ami^iu ;  and  that  word  is  incompetent  to 


BAPTISM    BY   SEA-WATER.  343 

13erform  any  sach  clutj,  as  has  been,  abundantly,  shown. 
Besides,  2^^^^W^  given  by  Conaut,  and  dij),  given  by  Car- 
son (for  "baptize  means  dip,  and  only,  dip"),  are  words 
of  essentially  difierent  character;  and  baptize  is  so  far 
from  expressing  either,  that  Fuller  is  compelled,  openly, 
to  abandon  both  for  the  cloudier  term — "  im-merse." 

It  is  a  point  as  settled  as  anything  of  the  kind  can  be, 
that  the  demand  for  plunging  or  dipping  rests  in  the  fancy 
of  these  writers,  and  not  in  the  Greek  word. 

"  If  the  specific  forms  of  act  claimed  are  not  in  the  word, 
yet  is  not  a  mersion,  stripped  of  specific  forms,  to  be  found 
in  'the  sea'?"  I  answer,  no;  for  Bacchus  was  baptized 
"by  the  sea"  without  mersion  by  any  form  in  the  sea. 

"But  does  not  the  phrase  [ia-riUv^  el^  Oula,j(7ay,  necessarily 
require  that  the  object  (without  giving  to  it  form)  should 
pass  into  the  sea?"     I  answer,  yes;  provided  there  is  an 
immediate  relation  between  these  words.     That,  however 
is  not  necessarily  the  case  in  the  present  instance. 

The  person  to  whom  these  words  are  addressed  is  not 
standing  on  the  sea-shore.  If  he  were,  these  words  would 
carry  him  (in  some  way  not  defined)  into  the  sea.  But  he 
is  at  a  distance  from  the  sea,  and,  therefore,  d-  OdXaaaav. 
may  be  exhausted  by  a  relation  established  with  a  verb 
of  motion  to  be  supplied. 

That  this  suggestion  is  not  groundless  is  evident  from 
the  fact,  that  such  a  verb  of  motion  is  supplied  in  a  French 
translatfon  (1599),  met  with  in  the  Philadelphia  Library. 
It  is  true  that  this  translation,  still,  supposed  that  there 
was  a  passing  into  the  sea;  but  if  this  phrase  be  construed 
with  a  supplied  verb,  it  is  divorced  from  ^ar-ilm^  and  has 
no  longer  power  to  interpret  that  word. 

That  such  separation  should  take  place  may  be,  farther, 
argued  from  the  unsuitableness  of  such  phraseology  to 
express  the  use  of  sea-water  for  purification.  It  is  such 
language  as  is,  elsewhere,  used  for  drowning,  and  unless 
deliverance  come  from  some  other  quarter  than  the  phrase 
itself,  drowning  is  inevitable.  I  do  not  say  that  every 
baptized  man  must  become  a  drowned  man;  but  I  do  say 


344  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

that  (ia-riXui  never  did,  and  never  will  take  any  man  out  of 
tlie  water;  and  a  command  to  baptize  a  man  in  the  sea^ 
or  to  baptize  himself  into  the  sea,  is  a  command  (inter- 
preted simplj^  by  the  force  of  its  terms)  to  drown  a  man, 
or  to  commit  suicide  by  drowning,  just  as  surely  as  that 
2  and  2  make  4.  For  this  reason,  I  say  that  the  weight 
of  evidence  is  in  favor  of  another,  possible,  interpretation. 
The  translation  mcuj  he,  "baptize  thyself,  going  to  the  sea;"' 
leaving  the  way  open,  after  arrival  there,  for  the  use  of  the 
water,  in  any  way  that  fancy,  or  superstition,  or  religious 
usage  may  determine. 

2.  ISTo  manner  of  using  the  water  having  been  stated, 
and  ^oKri^u)  being  absolutely  dumb  with  silence  on  that 
point,  no  human  being  can  throw  one  ray  of  certain  light 
on  the  mode  of  practice  on  this,  or  on  any  other  occa- 
sion, characterized,  only,  by  this  single  word.  This  truth 
becomes  emphasized  when,  as  here,  there  is  no  demand  for 
even  a  mersed,  physical,  condition;  much  less  for  a  definite 
act  to  effect  such  condition. 

If  the  counsel,  given  to  the  Dreamer,  require  mersion 
in  the  sea,  it  is  obvious  that  it  does  so,  not  as  an  end,  but 
as  a  means,  a  means  to  purification;  but  unless  sea-water 
cannot  purify  except  mersed  objects  (which  we  know  is 
not  true),  then,  so  far  as  the  attainment  of  this  end,  we 
are  not  shut  up  to  a  mersion  in  the  sea.  And  the  way  for 
the  manner  of  use  opens  wider  still. 

It  is  important  to  keep  in  remembrance  that  this  was  a 
case  of  religious  defilement;  and  that  the  point  to  be 
secured  was,  to  bring  the  man  out  of  this  condition  of  defile- 
ment into  a  condition  of  purity.  Kow%  whatever  will  accom- 
plish this  will  render  him  a  baptized  man,  according  to 
the  principle,  "whatever  is  capable  of  changing  the  condi- 
tion, character,  and  relations  of  its  object,  is  capable  of 
baptizhig  that  object."  And,  here,  allow  nie  to  trespass, 
once  more,  by  a  reference  to  a  writer  outside  of  the  classic 
circle.  In  the  Stromata,  iii,  18,  tx  nM<fpoau'^rj<;  dq  T.<>i,'jtiav 
fia-Tilovai — doy/iaziW''-^^,  "^ve  have  a  baptism  out  of  one  coudi- 


BAPTISM    BY    SEA-WATER.  345 

tion  into  another,  "  out  of  purity  into  impurity,"'  and  the 
baptism  is  effected  by  "  licentious  teaching."  This  is  the 
most  perfect  confirmation  of  the  principle  deduced  from 
the  classics —  Whatever  exercises  a  controlling  injlucnce  over  its 
object,  BAPTIZES  THAT  OBJECT,  b//  transferring  it  from  one  state  or 
condition  to  another.  If  sea-water  has  a  controlling  influence 
over  superstitiously  induced  defilement,  then,  in.  ichatever 
way  such  icater  may  be  used  (securing  the  development  of 
such  influence),  it  baj^tizes,  taking  out  of  defilement  and 
putting  into  purity,  with  all  its  rights  and  privileges, 
whether  by  sprinkling  or  otherwise. 

3.  This  sea-water  may  have  been  used  by  pouring,  by 
sprinkling,  by  Vv^ashing  the  hands,  or  in  any  other  way  in 
which  it  was  popularly  imagined,  or  religiously  required, 
to  secure  purification.  The  word  fta-ri^u)  places,  absolutely, 
no  limits  to  the  case.  If  it  was  supposed  that  the  virtues 
of  sea-water  were  secured  by  drinldng,  then  such  mode  of 
use  would  be  just  as  legitimate  a  7node  of  haptisyn  as  any 
other.  It  would  control  the  condition.  The  Rev.  R.  S. 
Fullerton,  missionary  to  Ilindostan,  says:  "  Upon  this  the 
dying  man  is  placed,  and  pieces  of  gold  and  silver  and 
coral,  together  ivith  some  Ganges  icater  and  a  tulsi  leaf,  were 
placed  in  his  mouth.  The  tulsi  is  a  plant  much  worship- 
ped by  the  Hindoos.  All  this  is  done  by  loay  of  inu'lfying 
the  man  and  preparing  him  for  death."  Kow,  I  do  not  say, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  that  Plutarch's  dreamer  did  take  sea- 
water  and  "  put  it  into  his  mouth"  for  purification;  bat  I 
do  say,  that  if  the  purifying  influence  of  sea-water  was 
supposed  to  be  thus  developed,  then,  Greek  usage  would 
say  that  such  a  man  was  a  baptized  man.  And  whether,  in 
this  passage  or  not,  we  should  read,  '■'■  pimfy  thyself,  going 
to  the  sea,"  there  is  nothing  in  classic  usage  to  prevent 
^anzi^oj  meaning  to  purify  by  the  sprinlding  or  drinldng  sea- 
loater,  any  more  than  to  mean  to  intoxicate  l)y  drinking 
wine.  Palinurus  was  baptized  into  sleep  by  sprinkling 
his  temples  with  Lethean  dew. — JEneid,  v,  855. 

If  this  dreamer,  having  gone  to  the  sea,  had  neither 


346  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

plunged,  nor  dipped,  nor  sprinkled,  nor  drank  its  waters, 
nor,  as  Dr.  Fuller  suggests,  "  laid  down  upon  tlie  shore 
and  let  its  billows  roll  over  him,"  but  had  merely  gone 
through  the  "-mud-smearing"  process  of  lustration,  and 
was,  thus,  supposed  to  be  free  from  defilement;  Greek 
usage  would  give  fullest  sanction  to  his  being  called  a 
baptized  man. 

If  classic  Greek  pronounces  that  man  who  is  in  a  condi- 
tion of  drunkenness  to  be  a  baptized  man — or,  in  a  condi- 
tion of  indebtedness,  to  be  a  baptized  man — or,  in  a  con- 
dition of  intellectual  imbecility,  to  be  a  baptized  man — 
or,  in  a  condition  of  obloquy,  to  be  a  baptized  man — or, 
in  a  condition  of  grief,  anger,  or  vehement  desire,  to  be  a 
baptized  man — or  in  a  condition  of  profound  stupor,  to  be 
a  baptized  man — or,  in  a  condition  of  suffering  from  mis- 
fortune, or  from  oppressive  taxes,  to  be  a  baptized  man — 
or,  in  a  condition  of  mental  perplexity,  to  be  a  baptized 
man — or,  in  a  condition  of  disease,  and  under  the  influence 
of  magical  arts,  to  be  a  baptized  mau, — then,  I  say  (although 
no  instance  may  be  found,  cither  in  the  case  before  us,  or 
in  auy  other  case  "  through  all  Greek  literature,^  where 
a  man  restored  by  auy  competent  influence  to  religious 
purity  is  said  to  be  a  baptized  mau,  still),  any  one  who 
chooses  thus  to  apply  the  term  (and  to  associate  it  with 
spriukling  as  the  act),  will  have,  in  so  doiug,  the  unani- 
mous support  of  every  classic  Greek  writer  through  a 
thousand  years. 

Take,  for  example,  the  following:  ^^  (ft  kv  Alyuzro}  hpeiq 
iaoTooz  T:tpippaivouatv  ob  ttuvtc  udarc^  a)X  ixzivio  i^  ob  ~e-t<TT£Uxa<Ttv  <>ti 

apa  y.ai  'A?:?  Tze-coxev."*  "  The  priests  in  Egypt  besprinkle 
themselves,  not  with  any  water,  but  with  that  of  which 
they  believe  that  Isis  drank." — Plutarch  dc  Isid.  ct  Osir.,  cap. 
89.  The  term  baptism  is  not  applied  to  tliis  transaction; 
but  I  affirm,  that  a  state  of  eojnplcte  purificaiion  induced  by 
the  sprinkling  of  Ibis  water,  is  as  legitimate  and  true  a 
baptism,  interpreted  by  classic  Greek,  as  would  be  a  state 

*  I  follow  Matthsei ;  Exp.  Bapt.,  p.  338.  I  have  not  found  this  precise 
language. 


BAPTISM   BY   TEACHING.  347 

of  complete  covering  of  their  bodies  by  tlieir  being  sunk 
to  the  bottom  of  the  Mle.  The  baptisms  diifer  in  their 
nature;  but  as  to  their  legitimacy,  under  the  severest  in- 
terpretation, the  former  is  as  complete  as  the  latter. 

Sprinkling  demands,  not  as  of  grace,  but  as  of  absolute 
right,  the  acknowledgment  of  its  power  to  baptize. 


A  CLASS  OF  PEESONS— THOKOUGHLY  IMBUED. 

OuTU)  xai  -^ij-stq  ■Kapa^ar.riaTat..  So,  also,  wc  are  Parabaptists 
(spuriously  mersed).  Arriak,  ii,  9. 

As  this  passage  has  some  special  interest  and  import- 
ance, I  will  give  it  more  fully  : 

To  -dOo^  rod  (jsiSa/iiiivou  xai  f^py^'iivou  tots  xat  eart  toj  wzl  v.di  y.aXztTa'. 
^loudaioq.  ourio  xai  rj/jlc:  ~apa^aTcri<7Tat,  Xoyw  pAv  "louSawt^  epyio  S'lDdoTt, 
dtTup-aOsli^  7:pd<;  rov  Xoyov.  paxpdv  d-o  rou  yp7,a&ai  ruoxoi-  a  kiyoptv 
i(p   oiq  dig  £:(5wrc?  aura  irzacpopeSa. 

The  caption  to  the  chapter  from  which  this  extract  is 
made  is  as  follows  : 

"When  we  are  unable  to  fulfil  what  the  character  of  a 
man  promises,  we  assume  that  of  a  philosopher."  His 
theme- is  Character — True  Manhood — False  Assumption. 

The  translation  and  remarks  of  Prof.  Stuart  have  been 
already  given  in  connection  with  that  part  of  the  passage 
which  relates  to  /Sa-ra».  For  convenience,  I  repeat  what 
relates  to  the  point  before  us :  "  Where  we  see  any  one 
acting  with  both  parties,  we  are  wont  to  say :  lie  is  no 
Jew,  but  plays  the  hypocrite.  But  when  he  takes  on  him 
the  state  and  feelings  of  one  who  is  w^ashed  or  baptized, 
and  has  attached  himself  to  the  sect,  then  he  is  in  truth 
and  is  called  a  Jew.  But  we  are  -apai^aizriarat^  transgressors 
as  to  our  baptism,  or  falsely  baptized,  if  we  are  like  a  Jew 
in  pretence  and  something  else  in  reality." 

Another  translation :  "  But  when  he  assumes  the  sen- 
timents of  one  who  hath  been  baptized  and  circumcised, 
then  he  both  really  is,  and  is  called  a  Jew.  Thus  we,  fal- 
sifying our  profession,  are  Jews  in  name,  but  in  reality 


348  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

are  sometlilng  else.  Our  sentiments  are  inconsistent  with 
our  discourse ;  far  from  practising  wliat  we  teach,  and  we 
pride  ourselves  in  the  knowledge  of.  Thus,  while  we  are 
unable  to  fulfil  what  the  character  of  a  man  promises,  we 
assume,  besides,  so  vast  a  weight  as  that  of  a  philosopher. 
As  if  a  person,  incapable  of  lifting  ten  pounds,  should 
endeavor  to  heave  the  same  stone  with  Ajax." — Elizabeth 
Carter.  London,  1758.  " Parabaptistic  sumus,  et  non  le- 
gitime tincti." — FoUtiani,  Lufjdum,  1600.  AVben  speaking, 
heretofore,  of  "rd  -deug  rod  ps^aiiiiivou-'  I  remarked  that  I  bad 
not  found  any  writer  who  brought  the  secondary  meaning 
of  ^jdnru)  to  bear  upon  the  passage.  Since  then,  I  am  happy 
to  say,  I  have  met  with  one  who  does.  In  jEjrktcti,  ^c, 
London,  1G70,  H.  ^YoJfe,  we  have  this  translation  :  "  Cum 
autem  affectum  ilia  dlsdpUnd  imhuti  sectamque  professi  ad- 
liibuerit,  tum  revera  Judaius  et  est  et  nominatur." 

All  idea  of  any  reference  to  Christian  baptism,  or  Jewish 
baptism,  or  to  the  rite  of  circumcision,  must,  I  think,  be 
excluded,  as  incongruous,  from  the  passage.  I  would  read 
it  thus :  "  When  we  see  any  one,  now  on  one  side,  now  on 
the  other,  we  are  used  to  say,  he  is  not  a  Jew  but  a  pre- 
tender. But  when  he  adopts  the  sympathies  of  one  imbued 
and  convinced,  then  he  is  both  in  reality  and  is  called  a 
Jew.  So,  also,  we  are  Parabaptists — mis-mersed — Jews  in 
word,  but  something  else  in  fact,  un-sympathizing  in  heart 
with  the  utterances  of  our  lips."  (See  Rom.  2:  28,  29.) 

1.  The  scope  of  a  passage  must  largely  control  the  in- 
terpretation of  its  parts.  The  passage  has  an  exclusive 
regard  to  man's  nature,  and  to  genuine  and  spurious  char- 
acter. There  is  a  severe  exposure  of  the  inconsistency 
exhibited  between  profession  and  practice.  It  is  impossi- 
ble, under  these  circumstances,  that  the  elements  of  a 
profession  should  be  made  the  chosen  exponents  of  char- 
acter. But  this  is  done  if  a  ritual  baptism  and  a  ritual 
circumcision  are  spoken  of  Outward  rites  do  not  confer 
inward  character.  To  adopt  the  character  or  sympathies 
of  one  ritually  baptized,  &c.,  is  to  adopt  a  nullity. 


BAPTISM   BY   TEACIima.  849 

2,  The  phrase  ^Jt^jajj.idvoo  y.di  T,pr^!ihoo  may  be  interpreted 
in  completest  harmony  with  the  scope  of  the  passa2:e. 
This  has  been,  ah^eady,  sliown,  and  need  not  be  repeated. 
To  adopt  "  the  sympathies  of  one  imbued  and  convinced," 
is  to  adopt  a  real,  and  not  a  merely  ritual  character. 

3.  Uapa^a-Ttarai  13  capable  of  a  like  harmonious  inter- 
pretation. Nothing  is  more  unquestionable  tlian  that  pro- 
found influence  belongs  to  /Ja-rt^w,  and  is  inseparable  from 
all  its  forms.  The  form  before  us  is  met  with,  now,  for 
the  first  time.  It  may  occur,  elsewhere,  in  classical  writ- 
ings; but,  if  so,  I  am  not  aware  of  it.  In  this  infrequent 
occurrence,  as  well  as  in  construction,  it  resembles  J:  (Sd-rac. 
The  resemblance  does  not  stop  here.  They  both  refer  to 
classes  of  persons  marked  by  decided  character;  /3a-T7j?, 
through  dyeing;  j3a7TTt(TTVjc,  through  mersion.  The  former 
drops  the  element  of  color;  the  latter  drops  the  form  of 
intusposition.  Parabaptist  is  very  clearlj^  expounded  as 
one  whose  character  is  traceable  no  deeper  than  the  utter- 
ances of  the  lip;  while  a  Baptist,  by  implication,  is  one 
whose  utterances  are  from  the  heart,  or,  as  Antoninus 
sa^'s,  ''  imbued  with  honesty  to  the  bottom/''  A  ritual  water 
dipping  is  utterly  out  of  place.  "0  fiaizzr^q  was  one  tinc- 
tured with  all  that  is  vile;  6  [ia~iarriq  is  one  thoroughly 
penetrated  with  the  elements  of  character,  honestly  ex- 
hibited, whether  good  or  bad. 

We  have,  thus,  in  the  progress  of  our  classical  inquiries, 
been  brought  face  to  face  with  the  Jew,  interpreters  tliink 
with  Jewish  baptism. 

The  outer  confine  of  the  limits  assigned  to  ourselves  has 
been  reached. 

Sacred  Baptism  can  have  no  possible  influence  over 
Classic  Baptism ;  whatever  influence  the  latter  xaay  have 
over  the  former.  Every  rational  consideration  demands 
that  Classic  Baptism  should  be  discussed  first  in  order,  and 
be  determined  without  any  disturbing  influence. 

In  an  attempt  to  do  this,  the  materials  within  my  reach 
have,  now,  become  exhausted.     And  here  wo  rest. 


350  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 


GENEKAL  EESULTS. 

In  concluding  this  inquiiy,  and  in  gathering  up  results 
connected  with  it,  it  may  be  remarked : 

1.  Certain  old  and  long-cherished  errors  have  been 
abandoned. 

(1.)  That,  jSd-ru)  and  fia-ri'^ui  are  absolute  eqidmlents,  is  an 
error  maintained  through  two  centuries  of  controversy^, 
but,  at  length,  abandoned  by  all. 

(2.)  That,  [3d-ru}  does  7ioi  mean  to  dije,  is  an  error,  now, 
left  without  a  defender.  It  is  instructive  to  remember 
that  all  cases  of  dyeing  were  once,  controversially,  treated 
as  cases  of  Jlgure,  in  which  dipping  was  always  present  in 
fact  or  in  imagination. 

(3.)  That,  /SarrtTw  means  to  dip  repeatedly^  is  an  error 
thoroughly  exploded.  Lexicons  still  give  this  meaning; 
but  lexicographers  must  take  a  great  deal  on  trust,  or  on 
a  necessarily  imperfect  examination.  Thoroughly  devel- 
oped usage  is  supreme. 

2.  Other  errors  remain  to  be  corrected. 

(1.)  That,  (idnru),  primary^  is  sternly  adherent  to  the  modcdity 
of  dipping,  through  all  its  usage,  is  an  error  to  be  corrected. 
Why  not  accept  to  moisten,  to  wet,  to  wash,  without  mo- 
dality, as  well  as  to  dye?  These  are  the  natural  out- 
growths of  dip,  as  are  to  color,  to  stain,  to  gild,  to  glaze, 
to  temper,  to  tincture,  the  legitimate  language  offspring 
of  dye. 

(2.)  That,  ^aizri^u)  is  but  a  reapiKarance  of  i3d-T<o  "  in  a 
little  longer  coat,"  is  an  error.  That  any  language  should 
give  birth  to  a  word  which  was  but  a  bald  repetition  of  one 
already  in  existence,  is  a  marvel  which  may  be  believed 
when  proved.     Besides,  when  the  relationship  between 


GENERAL   RESULTS.  351 

these  words  was  settled,  it  was  afSrmcd  tliat  /3r/-rw  had  hut 
one,  and  that  a  modal,  moaning;  this  is,  now,  abandoned, 
and  an  additional  meaning,  without  modality,  is  admitted; 
surely,  in  view  of  so  great  a  change,  the  relationship  be- 
tween these  words  calls  for  a  review. 

(3.)  That,  ^ar-iUo  expresses  a  dcfiniie  act  of  any  land,  is 
an  error  needing  correction.  The  current  of  controversy 
has  set  toward  the  proof  or  disproof  of  certain  acts, — to 
dip,  to  plunge,  on  the  one  side;  to  sjmnlde,  to  pour,  on  the 
other.  The  controversy  has  proved  to  be  both  unsatis- 
factory and  interminable.  It  would,  still,  continue  to  be 
so,  if  prolonged  through  three  thousand  years  instead  of 
three  hundred.  The  idea  that  any  form  of  act  is  justly 
involved  in  the  controversy,  is  but  a  phantom  of  the  imag- 
ination. There  is  no  form  of  act  inherent  in  fianri^ijj.  It 
claims  the  agency  of  a  band  of  servitors  whose  name  is 
legion. 

(4.)  That,  aivj  loord  expressive  of  condition  can  he  self-limited^ 
as  to  the  form  of  the  act  effecting  such  condition,  is  an  error. 

Bdrrroj,  secondcir}/,  demands  for  its  object  a  dyed  condition.  It 
has  no  form  of  act  of  its  own.  It  asks  for  no  specific  act.  It 
accepts  and  cordially  affiliates  with  dip,  or  drop,  or  press, 
or  smear,  or  sprinkle,  or  pour,  &c.,  &c. 

Ba-ri'^m  demands  for  its  object  condition  :  (1.)  A  change  in 
its  present  condition,  introducing  it  into  a  condition  of 
complete  iniusposition.  This  word,  like;5a;rrw  (second),  has 
no  form  of  act  of  its  own;  it  asks  for  none;  it  accepts 
indifferently  of  any,  of  all,  corapetent  to  meet  its  demand. 
(2.)  It  demands  a  comjdete  change  of  condition,  physical,  in- 
tellectual, moral,  or  ceremonial,  icithout  iniusposition.  And 
to  meet  this  demand  it  accepts  any  agency,  physical  or 
spiritual,  competent  to  the  task.  Hot  iron  made  to  pass 
into  a  cold  condition;  intoxicating  wine  made  to  pass  into 
an  unintoxicating  condition;  a  defiled  man  made  to  pass 
into  a  purified  coiuiiiion ;  a  sober  man  made  to  pass  into 
a  drunken  condition;   a  wakeful   man  made  to  pass  into  a 


352  CLASSIC   BAPTISM. 

dcej)l II  somnolent  condiiion;  are  all  exemplifications  of  bap- 
tism loiihout  intusposition  in  fact,  and  without  any  evidence 
of  intusposition  by  figure.  The  varied  acts  and  agencies 
inducing  these  baptisms  show  that  there  is  no  limitation 
in  these  directions. 

(5.)  That,  fiar.-Ctu}  has  any  responsibility  for  the  form  of  the 
act  effecting  2)rimari/  ba/ptism,  or  for  the  manner  of  applying  the 
agency  securing  secondary  baptism,  is  an  error.  Dr.  Carson 
says,  "  to  dye  {fA-nzst'J)  by  sprinkling  is  as  legitimate  as  to 
dye  by  dipping."  Because  coloring  matter,  applied  by 
sprinkling,  efiects  a  dyed  condition,  does  /?d-rw,  therefore, 
mean  to  sprinkle,  or  has  it  anytliing  to  do  with  the  mode 
of  applying  the  color?  To  morse — ^a-ri'^eiv — to  place  in  a 
condition  of  intusposition  by  sjmnlding,  is  as  legitimate  as  to  do 
so  by  sinking;  but  does  jSaK-t^cu,  therefore,  mean  to  sprinkle, 
or  has  it  any  responsibiUty  for  the  act  by  which  the  intus- 
position was  effected?  To  merse — iSaTtzrUty — to  bring  into  a 
new  and  completely  changed  condition,  by  sprinkling  (as,  for  ex- 
ample, bringing  an  impure  man  into  a  state  of  complete 
purity  by  sprinkling  Ibis  water),  is  as  legitimate  as  any 
other  conceivable  method;  but  shall  we  tear  asunder 
^oKxilu}  and  its  condition,  to  ally  it  with  the  mode  of  ap- 
plying the  water,  with  which  it  has  nothing  to  do?  It  is 
enough  for  any  word  to  perform  one  duty  well.  When 
(iaTtriZo)  has,  with  all  fidelity,  secured  appropriate  condition 
for  its  object,  do  not  impose  upon  it  the  alien  and  im- 
2:)racticable  duty  of  performing,  also,  the  act  by  which  that 
condition  is  efl'ected. 

3.  Usage,  the  accepted  arbiter,  has  spoken  freely,  and, 
I  think,  has  been  reported  faithfully,  as  teaching — 

(1.)  Bd-TU),  TiNGO,  and  dip,  are  words,  Avhich,  in  their  re- 
spective languages,  represent,  for  the  most  part,  the  same 
identical  ideas. 

(2.)  Ba-ri'^w,  MERGO,  and  MERSE,  are  words,  which,  in  their 


GENERAL   RESULTS.  353 

respective  languages,  represent,  for  the  most  part,  the  same 
identical  ideas. 

(3.)  These  two  classes  of  words  differ  from  each  other 
essentially.  They  are  not  interchanged,  nor  interchange- 
able ordinarily,  much  less  identical. 

(4.)  Bdnrcu  and  BanriZui  exhibit  a  perfect  parallelism  in 
their  development. 

1.    Bdr.TiO]   To  DIP. 

1.  Ba--i%(jj]   To  MERSE. 

2.  Bdnvoj;  To  dip  into  any  eo?on??_^  liquid /o?'  the  sake  of 

the  effect;  To  dye. 

2,  Ba-KTiZu)]  To  merse  into  any  liquid /or  the  sake  of  its 

influence;  To  drown. 

3.  Bdnru) ;  To  affect  by  the  peculiar  influence  of  coloring 

matter  {icithout  the  act  of  dipping)',  o.  g.,  to  sprinkle 
blood;  to  squeeze  a  herry ;  to  bruise  hy  hlows. 
3.  Banrt'^aj;  To  uffcct  by  any  controlling  influence  [with- 
out the  condition  of  mersion);  e.  g.,  to  sprinkle  poppy- 
juice  ;  to  pour  water  on  hot  iron;  to  drink  intoxicat- 
ing liquor. 

The  perfect  parallelism  of  development  thus  exhibited, 
in  these  two  words,  goes  far  to  show  that  the  true  inter- 
pretation of  each  has  been  secured. 

(5.)  Baptism  is  a  myriad-sided  word,  adjusting  itself  to 
the  most  diverse  cases. 

Agamemnon  was  baptized;  Bacchus  was  baptized; 
Cupid  was  baptized;  Cleinias  was  baptized;  Alexander 
was  baptized;  Panthia  was  baptized;  Otho  was  l)aptized; 
Charicles  was  baptized ;  and  a  host  of  others  were  bap- 
tized, each  differing  from  the  other  in  the  nature  or  the 
mode  of  their  baptism,  or  both. 

A  blind  man  could  more  readily  select  any  demanded 
color  from  the  spectrum,  or  a  child  could  more  readily 

23 


354  CLASSIC    BAPTISM. 

thread  the  Cretan  labyrinth,  than  coukl  "  the  seven  wise 
men  of  Greece"  dechxre  the  nature,  or  mode,  of  any  given 
baptism  by  the  naked  help  of  jia-riZoj. 

(6.)  The  master-ke}^  to  the  interpretation  of  ^anrt^^co  is 
CONDITION, — condition  characterized  by  completeness,  with 
or  without  physical  envelopment. 

CONCLUSION. 
Such  are  the  results  reached  in  an  attempt  to  determine, 
from  usage,  the  meaning  of  /JaTrrtTw,  and  the  nature  of 
Classic  Baptism.  No  claim  is  made  for  absolute  truth. 
Apologetic  material  is  not  lacking  to  extenuate  the  want 
of  greater  perfectness;  but  I  care  not  to  offer  it.  In  the 
lack  of  service  on  the  part  of  those  more  competent,  I  have 
done  what  I  could.  The  method  and  the  issue  are  cheer- 
fully and  deferentially  submitted  to  all  competent  judges. 
Approval  of  every  conception  and  definition  I  do  not  look 
for;  a  clear  verdict  of  substantial  truth,  I  do  venture  to 
expect.  If  in  this  expectation  I  shall  not  be  disappointed, 
it  is  my  purpose  to  pursue  the  inquiry  "on  this  line"  in 
relation  to  Jewish  and  Christian  baptisms.  But  "one 
thing  at  a  time"  is  a  good  rule.  Under  it,  let  all  inter- 
ested seek  to  give  an  answer,  that  shall  be  final,  to  the 
question.  What  is  Classic  Baptism? 

Over  against  the  Baptist  answers  : 

1.  Baptizing  is  dipping  and  dipping  is  baptizing. 

Baptist  Confession  of  Faith. 

2.  To  dip  and  nothing  but  dip  through  all  Greek  literature. 

Alkxandeu  Carson,  LL.D.,  Baptist  Boa >-d  of  Publication. 

3.  To  immerse,  immerge,  submerge,  to  dip,  to  plunge,  to  im- 

batlie,  to  whelm.  T.  J.  Conant,  D.D.,  Baptist  Bible  Union. 

I  would  place  this  answer  : 

Whatever  is  capable  of  thoroughly  changing  the 
character,  state,  or  condition  of  any  object,  is  capable 
of  baptizing  that  object  ;  and  by  such  change  of  char- 
acter, state,  or  condition  does,  in  fact,  baptize  it. 


Will  soon  be  Ready  for  Publication. 


JUDAIC    BAPTISM. 

JEWISH   WRITERS. 

JOSEPH  us.  PHILO. 

JEWISH  SCRIPTURES. 

Passages  of  Scripttire  in  the  Old  Testa?nent  which  are  interpreted 
by  Patristic  Writers  as  expressive  of  Baptis?n. 

1.  Baptism  by  the  Flaming  Sword — Genesis  3  :  24— Ambrose. 

2.  Baptism  by  the  J)d\\ge— Genesis  7  :  18— Tektullian,  Cyprian. 

3.  Baptism  by  the  Cloud  and  by  the  Sea.— Exodus  U :  31— Basilm. 

4.  Baptism  by  Wood— Exodus  15  :  25— Ambro.se. 

G.  Baptism  by  Washing  Hands  and  Feet—E.vodus  40:  31— Cyril. 

G.  Baptism  by  Sprinkling— Leri/tc?/s  14  :  7— Ambrose. 

7.  Baptism  by  Wiidnng— Leviticus  15  :  5— Chrysostom,  Clement. 

8.  Baptism  by  the  Jordan— JosAwa  3  :  17— Orioen. 

9.  Baptism  by  Circumcision— Jos/ma  5:  3— Justin  Martyr,  Greoory. 

10.  Baptism  by  Pouring  Wi\tev—I  Kings  18  :  33— Origen,  Basil. 

11.  Baptism  by  Crossing  the  Jordan— // /liw^s  2  :  8— Orioen,  Cyril. 

12.  Bai>tism  by  Washing— 7/ A'i«(7s  5  :  14— Septuagint. 

13.  Baptism  by  Weight  of  Sins—//  Kings  6  :  5— Justin  Martyr. 

14.  Baptism  by  Corruption— Jo/;  9  :  30— Aquila. 

15.  Baptism  by  Sprinkling  and  Washing— Paw/wi  51  :  7— Ambrose,  Cyril. 

16.  Baptism  by  Trouble— PsaZ/n  69  :  2— Symmachus. 

17.  Baptism  in  Sincerity  by  True  Fiuth— Canticles  5  :  12— Ambrose. 

18.  Baptism  by  Repentance- /sf/ZaA  1  :  16— Justin  Martyr,  Jerome. 

19.  Baptism  by  Water,  by  the  Spirit,  and  by  Fire— /.s«i«A  4  :  4— Basil. 

20.  Baptism  by  a  Coal  of  F'u-c— Isaiah  6  :  7— Ambrose. 

21.  Baptism  by  Iniquity— /so/«A  21  :  4— Septuagint. 

22.  Baptism  by  Washing— i^^eAie/  16  :  4— Jerome. 

23.  Baptism  by  Effusion  and  Sprinkling— AVA/W  36  :  25— Jerome. 


APOCRYPHA. 

Judith  12  :  7.  Sirach  81  :  30, 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Mr/-/,- 7  :  4,  8.  /y»A7'll:38.  Jhbrcws  [):  10. 


ALSO, 


JOHANNIC  BAPTISM 


WHAT  IS  ITS  TllUE  CHAEACTEH? 


I. 

WHAT  WAS  JOHN'S  KNOWLEDGE  AS  TO  THE  USAGE 
OF  BAUTIZQ.  ? 

1.  As   TO    FIGURATIVE    USE. 

2.  As   TO   LITERAL   USE.  ' 

II. 

THE  COMMISSION  OF  JOHN  TO  BAPTIZE, 

III. 

THE  NATURE   OF  JOHN'S  BAPTISM. 

1.  As    SHOWN   BY   VARIOUS    STATEMENTS    AND    ALLUSIONS. 

2.  As    SHOWN    BY    THE   BAPTISM    PREACHED. 

3.  As    SHOWN    BY   THE   BAPTISM    RITUALLY    ADMINISTERED. 

lY. 

THE  PLACES  OF  JOHN'S  BAPTISM. 

« 

V. 
THE  BAPTISM  OF  THE  LORD  JESUS. 

VI. 
THE  BAPTISM  OF  JOHN  HIMSELF. 

1.  By   TOUCHING   THE    PERSON    OP   THE   LORD   JeSUS. 

2.  By    HIS    OWN    BLOOD   AS   A    MARTYR. 

YII. 

PHILOLOGICAL  AND  GRAMMATICAL  EXAMINATION 
OF  RULING  PASSAGES. 


P';'""ton   Theological   Seminary   Lib. 


1    1012   01189   8964 


Date  Due 


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